City of Angels (and Demons)
by MarkiplierMultiverse
Summary: Book One of the Demons Trilogy. After miraculously surviving a fatal accident, Mark is the main focus of interest for Sam and Dean Winchester as the brothers try to unfold the mystery in the City of Angels. Set during the first half of season 12. A Markiplier/Supernatural crossover. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

"Hello, everybody!" Mark's enthusiastic intro began. "My name is Markiplier and welcome back to Minecraft!"

He glanced to his side to check and make sure the video was still recording. "I haven't played this game in a while and, in all honesty, I never would have thought I'd make another video of it." He typed in a few console commands to get to where he was going faster. "But someone said a Markiplier world was set up and I thought it'd be fun to visit it with you guys!" On the computer screen, he arrived at the entrance to Markiplier Land.

Before he could continue, Mark's phone went off. He yelled at it a few times before he excused himself and checked to see who it was that was interrupting his recording. Felix, or PewDiePie, was calling. Mark had forgotten that Felix was spending the week in LA and at Mark's house. For no other reason then to hang out.

He shut off the recording, knowing he could pick it up later and answered the phone. Felix was at the airport and threatening to call a taxi. Mark was aware of the obvious scene Felix was trying to make. He assured Felix that he would be there in a jiffy and headed out the door.

* * *

Mark never made it to the airport. After receiving a call from one of Mark's friends, Felix arrived at the hospital. He found Amy, Mark's girlfriend, and Matt and Ryan standing in the waiting room. More people had been notified, but they had been the closest since they had been at Mark's house when the accident happened.

"Any word?" Felix asked. He was tempted to ask if Mark had the best care available, but that would have just been the worry talking.

"We haven't seen the doctor yet," Matt said. He sounded as aggravated as he looked. Felix couldn't blame him. A close friend had just been in an accident with no news. Felix was just as aggravated.

"He'll be all right," Amy said as if she had been repeating that over and over. She probably had.

Felix placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She gave him a small smile of thanks.

Mark had been in the hospital several times before, but nothing like this. He had gone through life threatening illnesses before, but that didn't change the seriousness of what was happening now.

He had been in a car accident heading for the airport to pick up Felix. Felix would have blamed himself, but the accident could have happened to anybody. A semi-truck had run a red light. If Mark hadn't been there, someone else could have been. The accident would have happened no matter what. More people could have been hurt if Mark hadn't been there.

A couple of hours passed before the doctor came up. Amy stepped out with the doc to talk privately. Even though he couldn't hear what was said, Felix knew by the expression on Amy's face that there wasn't good news.

A few minutes later, Amy rejoined the others in the waiting room. She was a bit teary eyed, but she was trying to be strong. After the news she gave, no one expected her to stay strong.

Mark wasn't going to make it.

* * *

There was nothing more they could do, the doctors said. Amy didn't believe them. And she wasn't going to leave Mark's side. No matter how long he had left, she would never leave him.

Matt and Ryan had left to contact Mark's family in Cincinnati and anyone else they could think of to tell. Amy had sent Felix to Mark's place to pick up a few things and take care of the place.

Amy sat down on the chair by the hospital bed. Mark hadn't yet woke up and the doctors didn't expect him to. Still, she grabbed his hand and spoke to him, telling him how worried everyone was. How scared she was right now. "Just wake up," she pleaded, holding back more tears.

She wiped her face when there was a soft knock at the door. She stood up as a doctor walked in. He wasn't one of the doctors she had talked to before. The first thing he did was introduce himself as Dr. Troy Cook.

"I know you're going through a lot right now," Dr. Cook said. "But I just want you to know that it will be all right."

Amy nodded her head, not knowing what to say. She couldn't agree with him because nothing was all right for now. Given time, maybe, but she was a wreck at the moment.

"Certain...experiments have been done in the past," Cook went on. He looked down at the clipboard he held in his hands. "The percent rate of recovery is high, but not everyone trusts experimental surgery. But mostly they don't trust the doctor who-"

"What kind of experimental surgery?" Amy asked. She glanced once at Mark, who looked as if he was sleeping peacefully and she had to hold back more tears. "Are you telling me you can...save him?"

Dr. Cook nodded his head. "But it comes at a high price," he said, holding the clipboard out to her. "It takes only your signature."

Amy hesitated with taking the clipboard. "What's the high price?" she asked.

"You might risk going against his wishes," Cook said, nodding his head toward Mark.

Amy knew Mark wouldn't want to die like this. She took the clipboard and signed her name, giving the okay for the experimental surgery.

* * *

Mark woke up, feeling groggy and weak. It took him some time to realize that he was in a hospital room. He looked around, seeing Amy asleep on the chair next to his bed. No one else was there and the clock on the wall read 4:18 in the afternoon.

"Hey," Amy was awake. She leaned forward, taking his hand. "How are you feeling?"

"What happened?" Mark asked. The grogginess he had felt was already gone. In fact, he felt pretty good. Which was why he was confused about being in a hospital.

"You were in an accident," Amy explained. The redness of her eyes told him alone how serious it had been. "You don't remember anything?"

Mark shook his head. "The last thing I remember...I was driving to the airport to pick up Felix," he said.

"That was four days ago."

"Four _days?"_

"We almost lost you," Amy said. "An experimental surgery, of all things, saved your life. Do you feel-"

"I feel fine," Mark snapped. Amy pulled back and he forced himself to calm down. "I'm just...confused. You said I was in an accident?"

Amy nodded. "They didn't think you'd make it," she said. "I was scared." She was on the verge of tears. Mark gestured for her and she climbed onto the bed with him, snuggling up against his chest. "You really are fine?" she asked, her voice quiet.

"Yes," Mark answered her. "I feel like I could take over the world."

She chuckled, laying her head on his chest, so she didn't see the color of his eyes change from normal to solid black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** SOOOOO sorry for the long hiatus on this story. My motivation for this one kinda left me for a while, but I recently got back into writing it! Sorry again for the long wait and hopefully I'll update this regularly.

* * *

 **Chapter One**

"The City of Angels. Otherwise known as the place demons go to fit in."

Sam Winchester glared over the roof of the Impala at his brother. "If you don't want to be here, just say so, Dean," he said. "Like you said before we left, there's plenty to do around the Bunker."

"And leave you without backup?" Dean asked then answered his own question with a shake of his head. "What I wanna know is why Cas, _who gave us this case,_ couldn't check it out."

"Cas and Crowley have bigger things to deal with," Sam said. "Lucifer, remember?"

Dean nodded, but that didn't change how he felt about the two dumping this case on them out of the blue. He looked over at the hospital they were parked at then looked at Sam, who was walking around the car to Dean. "Remind me again why we're _here?"_

"Seven car accidents, seven patients of the same age, height, and build, all taken care of by doctors Cook, Bates, and Clyde," Sam said. During the drive from Kansas to California, he had taken the time to memorize the case file.

"So we're investigating three doctors who are doing their jobs," Dean said, a bit of sass creeping into his voice. "First time for everything."

Sam rolled his eyes but continued with the details: "All of them were given only days, even hours, to live. All of them had a miraculous recovery. Four of the seven are now dead. No one knows the cause, they just fell over, dead."

Dean suddenly had a bad feeling about this. "As if a demon inhabited their dying body, gave them some extra time, then hightailed it outta there?" he asked. Sam gave a grim nod and Dean cursed under his breath. "And Cas thinks these doctors are behind it?"

"He didn't say so specifically, but that was the gist of it," Sam said. "They're the only doctors who treated someone who then had the miraculous recovery."

Dead had an open mind to the possibility of treading on demon worshipping ground here. And if not worshipping, it was some major dealing. It didn't matter if these doctors gave their patients a little more time. Once the patients were possessed, they weren't them anymore. It was worse on the families once the demon was done and gone. Beforehand, they could at least come to grips with the loved one dying. But dying sometime after making a 'miraculous recovery'? These doctors needed to be stopped.

"First up is Dr. Troy Cook," Sam said as they made their way to the entrance. "And, unfortunately, Bates and Clyde won't be in town for another three days."

"Probably off somewhere makin' more deals with demons," Dean said, feeling real hatred for these doctors. It was more than just the patients' lives that they were ruining.

On their way inside, a nurse was pushing a man in a wheelchair out to where a young woman was waiting at a car. The man in the wheelchair looked to be in his late twenties, the hair at the top of his head dyed a bright red. Considering they were at a hospital, it wasn't a strange ordeal, but something gave Dean a bad feeling as they walked by.

Being at a hospital in general gave everyone a bad feeling, so Dean shrugged it off and went inside with Sam.

* * *

After nearly a week in the hospital, Mark was finally able to go home. And despite the fact that he felt fine enough to walk out on his own, the nurse was able to talk him into the wheelchair and push him out. If he hadn't been in a hospital, he would have felt ridiculous being pushed around in a wheelchair. Unfortunately, he had stayed in hospitals plenty of times in the past to be used to it now.

Mark could see Amy outside with the car as they headed for the exit. As they made their way out, the nurse quietly thanked two men in suits who stepped out of their way to let them pass. One of the men nodded, watching Mark as they passed then the two men went inside.

"They looked important," Mark said, ignoring the chill down his spine he had felt when the one man had watched him.

"Two more like that were here earlier this week," the nurse said. "Looking for some guy. If they keep sending more of those guys, I'll start to feel sorry for whoever they're looking for."

"I hope you're not expecting me to start pushing you around in a wheelchair," Amy said as they stopped at the car. Ever since Mark woke up, she hadn't left his side for more than a few minutes. From that, he could tell how close she, and everyone else he knew, had come to losing him forever. And she never tired of asking him if he really was okay all the time. He knew her heart was in the right place, but she was starting to be a burden.

That sudden thought troubled him, but he didn't let it show. He had been cooped up in the hospital for so long, he had developed a short temper. He was ready to get back home and let things get back to normal.

"Everything okay?" Amy asked when he stayed silent for too long. She had that worried look in her eyes again.

"It's fine," Mark said, forcing a smile to put her mind at ease. "Just ready to get home." He got to his feet, wobbled at first, but got himself into the car. Amy thanked the nurse then got in the car and they were on the road a few minutes later.

* * *

At the front desk of the hospital, Sam and Dean only had time to show their fake badges before the orderly directed them to Dr. Cook's office.

"Are we expected?" Dean asked as he and Sam put the badges away.

The orderly shook his head. "The last time FBI agents showed up, they wanted to see Dr. Cook," he said. "You guys aren't here looking for that Lucifer guy?"

Sam and Dean gave each other a knowing look. Castiel was teamed up with Crowley looking for the Devil himself, Lucifer. It explained why they pawned the case off to Sam and Dean. Something of Hell was clearly going on here. Cas and Crowley obviously thought they had better things to do and couldn't be bothered with something small like simple demon possession.

"Different case," Sam said, looking back at the orderly. "But we do need to speak with Dr. Cook, so thanks." The orderly nodded and they headed off toward Cook's office.

"They could have handled this," Dean said, agitated at Cas and Crowley. "Crowley's the friggin' King of Hell! He couldn't take the damn time to tell these demons to scram?"

Sam stopped and turned to Dean in the middle of the hall. Dean stopped a bit reluctantly. "Did you ever think that maybe Crowley is in charge of all this?" Sam asked. "Cas was the only one that came to me about this and he didn't mention Crowley."

"Because he knows what we think of Crowley," Dean said. "If Crowley is in charge, why the hell would he show up here thinking Lucifer was around?"

"To hide the fact that he knows what's going on."

"That's a long stretch," Dean said, but logged the idea away for later consideration. "Let's just see what Cook has to say."

They made it to Cook's office a moment later. Sam knocked and when the door opened, they again didn't have time to introduce themselves with fake names. Dr. Cook invited them in as soon as he saw their badges. He didn't say anything until they were all seated in the office with the door closed.

"If this is about that missing persons case..."

"Our colleagues are working that," Sam said. "We're here on account of an anonymous tip. The caller seemed to think something suspicious is going on at this hospital." This was a spur of the moment story, but it made sense. And better than anything Dean could come up with.

"Suspicious?" Cook asked, looking back and forth between Sam and Dean. "I...I don't understand."

"Seven patients who were in fatal accidents were treated by you, a Dr. Bates, and a Dr. Clyde," Dean said, leaning forward in his seat, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together. "Four of them are now dead. No one can explain why."

Even if Cook had something to do with this, it was plain this was the first he heard of the four who had died. "They're dead?" he asked with obvious concern. He shook his head. "That's not possible. I was given guarantees that..." He trailed off, realizing he had been about to reveal something secret.

"Guarantees for what?" Dean pressed. Part of him wanted to pin the bastard against the wall and demand an explanation.

Cook hesitated a moment then stood up to go lock the door. "You can't tell anyone I said anything," he said as he walked back over to the desk. "If she found out I told you..."

"She who?"

"Dr. Laurie Bates," Cook replied. "She performs the surgeries herself."

Sam and Dean looked at each other. "Surgeries?" Sam asked, looking back at Cook. "That's how the patients had their miraculous recoveries?"

Dr. Cook nodded. "It's an experimental surgery," he said. "She doesn't allow anyone into the operating room. She only takes the fatally injured. She promised she could help them! And now four of them are dead? My god..."

It was obvious to Dean that this guy wasn't a threat to anyone. He was a sincere doctor who was an innocent contender to whatever Laurie Bates did in the operating room.

"Would it be possible for us to take a look around the operating room?" Sam asked.

Cook shook his head. "Laurie has the only key," he said. "She's unreachable and won't be back for another three days."

Dean looked at Sam and his thoughts were mirrored back at him by the look in his brother's eyes.

They had three days to stop what was going on here. And there was the very real possibility that the remaining three patients could be found dead before they could get any information from Dr. Bates.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the long breaks between updates, again. My mind has kinda been focused elsewhere, but this week I've been mostly focusing on this story, so expect more updates soon! I have not abandoned the story. I just needed to get the storyline I have planned straightened out for it so it didn't come out as a complete mess for you guys. Hope you enjoy! And keep an eye out for more!

* * *

 **Ch apter Two**

It was a long, quiet drive back to Mark's house. Amy kept stealing glances over at him as she drove. She had tried starting up a conversation, but he had muttered that he hadn't felt like talking. She wouldn't call it an awkward silence, but something was just unsettling to her and she couldn't pinpoint the cause.

Maybe it was just from being cooped up in the hospital for so long. She knew he had had health scares in the past, so maybe he didn't care for hospitals and staying in one even though he told the doctors and nurses that he felt perfectly fine was what had irked him.

And then there was just the fact that he liked silent car rides.

Amy pushed all of that out of her head as they got out of the car. She was nearly to the front door before she realized Mark wasn't following. She stopped and turned back to see him still standing by the car.

"Mark?"

Mark looked at her. "Sorry, just thinking," he said as he walked over to stand by her.

"About?" Amy pried gently Knowing what had happened, it was still strange for her to see him moving around as if the accident had never happened. That experimental surgery had done wonders. Still, it took a lot for her not to baby him and make sure he was okay at all times. Which was something that clearly bothered him at times, which was why she was trying to hold back now.

Mark didn't seem bothered now, which was good. "I was thinking about the last time I walked here," he said, pointing at the ground where he was standing. "And about how close I was to it _being_ my last time."

Amy told herself not to cry. She had done enough crying this past week. "You've got more years left in you," she said, reaching out to take his hand. Part of her was afraid he would pull away, but he gripped her hand back just as tightly. "We're not ready to let you go." She gave him a peck on the cheek. She started for the door, but stopped when Mark didn't move.

"What about Felix?"

Amy felt guilty for not saying anything. "He's been staying here, taking care of Chica," she said, relieved he didn't look pissed by that news. "Sorry I didn't tell you. It-"

"Don't worry; I didn't think to ask," Mark said. "Didn't expect him to still be here. He said it'd only be a week."

"But I didn't think you'd be in the hospital that whole time," Felix said, walking out of the house. Chica came out as well, running up to Amy, who was the closest. Felix placed a hand on Mark's shoulder. "You scared a lot of people."

"I heard," Mark said with a slight nod. "It's not the first time and it won't be the last."

"Don't say that," Amy said, giving Chica a few more pets. "I'd rather have it be the one and only time." Chica finally noticed that Mark was standing there-

And gave a fearful whine before she started barking at him.

Which made Mark jump, startled. "Chica? It's me, girl," he said, kneeling down and reaching for her.

Chica backed off, still barking, then ran off back into the house.

Mark looked heartbroken as he stood back up. "I wonder what's up with her," he said. He'd been away from home for longer without her acting like that. Amy could tell that that worried him.

"Maybe she just confused you with someone else," Felix said. "You probably just smell like hospital."

"Probably," Mark said, but Felix's reassurances didn't seem to make him feel any better.

* * *

Dean let himself inside the office of Dr. Laurie Bates. Sam had gone to check out her operating room. Any lock could be picked and Sam was just as good as Dean was at that. Dean could have gone, but he couldn't resist snooping as they passed Bates' office.

He stopped at the calendar on the wall, seeing that the date she had apparently left on was circled. But, the date she would be returning had a question mark. He saw that as she would be returning earlier or later, depending on how plans worked out.

"Big date with a demon, bitch?" Dean muttered then moved over to the desk, digging through and glancing at the papers there. He didn't care if things weren't left the way she had left them. A message needed to come across that someone was onto her.

He stopped at a letter that was marked important. It had been written by Bates and addressed to Dr. Cook, but apparently had been lost under the rest of the paperwork before it was taken to Cook. He came to that conclusion because Cook would have mentioned something like this if he had known.

Dr. Bates wanted to keep an eye on one of the patients. A Mark Fischbach. She stated that under no circumstances should he be released and that she would give him instructions on how to keep Mr. Fischbach there until she returned for further studies.

HE looked up when the door opened and Sam walked in. "Well?"

Sam shook his head. "It's a lock I've never seen before," he said. "On top of that, there's a protection spell disguised as a locksmith's logo. If we even manage to pick the lock, there's no way to know what we'd be unleashing."

"So that's a dead end until Dr. Bates gets back," Dean said then handed Sam the letter he had found. "In the meantime, we can check up on this."

Sam skimmed over the letter, retaining enough of what was important. "Dr. Cook never mentioned-"

"It either slipped his mind or," Dean pointed at the letter. "He never received it."

"The odds that Mark Fischbach _hasn't_ been released already?"

"Low, but it's all we've got to go on."

"Should we talk to Cook again?"

"Let's see if Fischbach is still here," Dean said. "Then we'll go say hi to Dr. Cook again." He took the letter as Sam handed it back then they both left the office.

* * *

Mark was sitting on the couch, his eyes on Chica, who was sitting across the room as far away from him as she could get. He had tried approaching her again, but she had still let out a fearful whine and ran off. At least she had stopped barking at him.

 _She knows I'm ME,_ he thought, worry still there at the back of his mind. He knew that by the way she looked at him. the way she would wag her tail sadly right before whenever he approached her. It was almost like she missed him, even though he was right there.

"You've done everything but talk to her," Ryan said as he came up and sat on the couch beside Mark. Maybe he was joking to lighten the mood, but he sounded too serious to Mark. "Sit her down, have a heart to heart."

"And then kiss and make up," Matt said, sitting at the computer, editing something. He had kept everyone on Mark's channel up to date while Mark had been in the hospital. He and Ryan had pretty much taken over the channel for the week. They had been a big help since Mark knew his fans had been worried.

The fact that he nearly died was kept quiet about, though. Only Mark's family and closest friends knew about that. His fans didn't need to know that. They all worried about him enough as it was.

"Maybe she knows," Mark said, his eyes never leaving Chica, who still looked sad, but slightly hopeful. "That I almost died, y'know? Or maybe I am dead and she's the only one who knows."

"Or maybe the doctors gave you a new brain and you're not the Mark she knows," Felix said, laying on the floor eating chips and watching a movie.

"Yeah, that could be it," Matt said sarcastically, which made everyone chuckle.

Except Mark. His mind was too preoccupied. No matter how much Felix's theory made sense, this was the real world and things like that just didn't happen. At least not yet. That would be cool and he hoped he would be around to see something like that.

"I'm gonna head out," Amy said, walking into the room, nearest to Chica. The dog happily received pets, unknowingly stabbing Mark in the heart with every tail wag. "Need me to pick up anything?"

"Maybe a book on how to go to therapy with your dog," Mark said. No one took that seriously and they laughed. That would have been normal, except he didn't feel normal. Chica's reaction to him just made that feeling more real.

And he hid that he was feeling this way. He wouldn't be able to stand anyone else babying him.

Amy walked over to the couch and gave him a quick kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" She squeezed his arm affectionately then left.

He knew she had originally planned on staying. Mark had talked her out of it, letting her know that she didn't have to. Maybe he had run her off, he didn't know.

Or maybe, deep down, she knew as well that something was off here. There was no other explanation for Chica's actions.

But was it him or just that hospital smell?

* * *

 _To be continued...  
_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Three**

Sam and Dean again walked in to the office of Dr. Cook. Uninvited, this time since Cook was currently busy with a patient. Surely a nurse had let Cook know that the two "FBI" agents were waiting for him. And wait they did. It was a good two hours before Cook walked into his office to greet them.

"Sorry for the wait, agents," Cook said, sitting down at his desk. Sam detected a certain air of nervousness about him. Good. Let him be nervous. Maybe he would offer something now that he hadn't before. "Is there something more?"

Sam and Dean said nothing. Dean stepped forward and placed the letter from Bates down, along with Mark Fischbach's release papers. They could have gone directly to talk to Fischbach, but Sam proposed that they ready themselves with information first. After all, they still didn't know what exactly they were dealing with. And if Fischbach was as important as Bates seemed to to think he was, Sam and Dean needed all the help they could get. And until Dr. Bates and Clyde returned, Cook was their only option.

Cook glanced down at the letter and release papers, spending most of the time reading the letter. He only glanced at the release papers once before looking up at the two brothers. "Before you start asking questions, I don't know why Laurie wanted to keep an eye on this patient," he said. "If anything, she was being compassionate. Being the _good_ doctor that she is."

"From the sound of that letter and the fact that he's been released already," Dean said, his voice rising in volume. He was pissed off and Cook got under his skin the most. "She wanted Mark Fischbach kept against his will."

"He was one of our more serious cases," Cook said, still clearly nervous, but he was keeping his cool. For now, at least. "The most serious case, concerning the experimental surgery." He rose from his desk and walked over to the filing cabinet. He returned with a folder and held it out.

Sam and Dean looked at each other then Sam took the proffered folder and opened it. Inside was Fischbach's medical file. Which included a very descriptive detail of what he had suffered in the accident. And everything the doctors had done in surgery to save him.

Sam handed the file over to Dean then looked at Cook. "He's lucky he didn't die on impact," he said.

Cook nodded in agreement. "Laurie said he was meant to survive," he said. "She was convinced it was the reason he didn't die on impact. That he had a greater plan."

Sam didn't like the sound of that, but it proved that something supernatural was going on here.

"Who signed the consent form?" Dean asked, looking up from the file. "Says here he doesn't have any close relatives that live in this area. He was in no condition to agree to the experimental surgery."

"His girlfriend signed the form," Cook said. "Amy Nelson. She never left his side while he was here. Is that information important?"

Sam wasn't sure if Dean had a reason for this line of questioning or if it was just out of curiosity. "Were any of the other patients able to sign their own consent forms?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Cook said with a nod, looking as if he hadn't thought about that before now. "But, as I said, Mr. Fischbach was our most serious case."

"We're gonna need the files on the rest of the patients who went through the experimental surgery," Dean said. "Even the ones who died."

"Give me a few minutes and I'll have them," Cook said then left the office to retrieve the records.

Sam looked at Dean once they were alone. "Did you piece something together that I haven't?" he asked.

"Probably not," Dean said, dropping the file on Cook's desk. "Seven fatal car accidents and all but one were able to sign their own consent forms? What were they dying of if they were awake?"

"You don't have to be unconscious to be dying, Dean."

"You saw the file about the accidents," Dean said. "Did the other six look fatal?"

Sam thought back to the information he had gathered before their arrival. He had read the reports, but the extent of their injuries had never been listed. He would have to dive deeper into the reports for clarification. Which explained why Dean had asked for the other files.

"You think they were lied to," Sam said. It wasn't a question because the answer was obvious.

"Explains why no one knows how those four died," Dean said. "Their bodies healed. If they really had been fatal, a demon possessing them wouldn't have healed them. An autopsy would prove they died from the accident."

"Unless the demon healed them."

"Why do that unless they were _sure_ it was a permanent vessel?"

"We need to find out what we're dealing with before jumping to any conclusions."

"And if I'm right?"

Sam went over everything he knew about the patients. Same age, height, and build. Whatever they were dealing with was obviously looking for something.

And that something was obviously Mark Fischbach.

* * *

Mark sat down in his office, in front of the camera for the first time in a week. He had told himself, and his friends, that he was going to wait a few days before recording any new videos. Give himself time to adjust back to normal life. But, the longer he put it off, the more he started thinking that his life _was_ back to normal. Chica and his friends just hadn't caught up yet.

They probably wouldn't for a while. He had been home for a few hours now and everyone still acted strange around him. They could deny it, but he knew that him coming back to life essentially had rattled them all. They didn't know how to deal with it.

They would in time.

Mark set everything up and started recording. "Hello, everybody!" he started with a wave, like he did with every intro. "For those of you who don't know, I was in the hospital for a week. Matt and Ryan have kept things chugging along on here while I was gone and we all need to thank them for that. Especially since it would have been on them to give this channel a good send off if this week had gone a bit differently."

He had debated announcing the news, but it would have come up sooner or later. "Earlier this week, I was in an accident," he said, his tone turning serious. "And I wasn't expected to make it. The only reason I'm here now is because my girlfriend knew I wasn't done yet. She signed a form and I was one of the lucky ones to take part in some experimental surgery that saved my life."

It was at this point that he knew he would normally get teary-eyed and start talking about how he had nearly left the world without making the difference he wanted to make. But right now... he felt nothing. He didn't feel anything about what he was talking about. He felt indifferent like it wasn't himself he was talking about but some story he didn't find interest in.

And that didn't bother him.

"I wanted to let you guys know that I'm perfectly fine," Mark went on. "I feel better than I've ever had _in years._ And I want you guys to know that I'll be working harder than ever to give you my best. You only get one life. One chance. It can be over before you know it. Don't let your life slip away. I'm gonna live my life to the fullest. And I'm glad I can share it with you guys."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Four  
**

Once Dr. Cook had returned with the medical files of the other six patients, Sam and Dean took the paperwork to the hotel they had booked. They could have done their research at the hospital, but they were more free to talk in their hotel room. No risk of anyone overhearing, plus they could drop their disguises.

And Dean was more comfortable in plaid and jeans than that damn suit.

"So, what do we have?" Dean asked, picking up one of the files as he sat on one of the beds. The bed didn't give a loud creek as he sat, a sign that this place wasn't _as_ seedy as the rest of the hotels they had stayed in over the years. "Anything stand out?"

"Other than what I already know?" Sam asked then shook his head. "But that's starting to be what stands out. There's nothing here explaining why these accidents were fatal. Other than Mark Fischbach's case, of course."

Dean held off gloating that he had been right. "So they were lied to," he said. "You think Cook knows?"

Sam shrugged his shoulders. "It didn't seem like it," he said. "Bates and Clyde seem to be running things. Maybe Cook's the scapegoat if things go wrong."

"If we keep pressing him, he might start asking questions and confront Bates," Dean said. "I may not like the guy, but we need to lay off before we get him killed." If he could help it, no one else was going to die here.

Not even Mark Fischbach. Even if he had been fated to die. Sam and Dean had avoided fate many times. Surely it would be easy to keep this guy alive.

"It'd probably be best if we stayed away from the hospital then," Sam said. "At least until Bates and Clyde come back."

Dean didn't say it, but it was obvious. They may have to go back if one or more of the other three patients keeled over. And if Fischbach was important, the other two were already on their way out.

Dean got up and moved over to the table Sam was sitting at. "I think we need to pay these guys a visit," he said once he found their medical files.

Sam was obviously thinking what Dean was thinking. "And what are we gonna say to them?" he asked. "We can't tell them they're dying."

"If this _is_ demon possession, we can handle it," Dean said. "We might even be recognized, so we wouldn't have to tell them they're dying. I've been wanting to punch someone all day."

"It might not be possession if Fischbach is the target."

"We can't be dealing with only one thing here," Dean said. If one demon was doing the job of seven... "I swear, if this is Crowley..."

"Or maybe Cas and Crowley gave up their search too soon."

Dean didn't want to even think about dealing with Lucifer right now. It couldn't be him, there were no signs. Unless the way he hopped from vessel to vessel suddenly changed.

"Can't be Lucifer," Dean said. "Unless he thinks he can evade us by using unimpressive..." he glanced at the files. "...engineers under six foot."

"Not all of them are engineers," Sam said. "Fischbach studied in college-"

Dean cut him off. "If it was Lucifer, Cas and Crowley would know," he said. "They did their own research, remember? Which was how we got this case."

Sam started to say something then stopped when his phone started ringing. He pulled it out. "It's Cook," he said then answered it.

Dean looked over the medical files while Sam was on the phone. He couldn't figure out what was going on, but the way Sam reacted... it couldn't be good. And by the time Sam hung up, Dean could guess.

"Which one?" Dean asked, looking down at the three medical files of the patients that were still alive. He didn't like the feeling that there were only two now. Made him feel like he had failed.

"Clark Duncan," Sam said then Dean deposited that file with the other pile of files. "They don't know the cause yet."

"And probably won't."

"They don't know what to look for," Sam said. "It may tie in to that spell that locked up the operating room."

"Then work on that," Dean said. He checked the time. "First thing in the morning, I'll go talk to Fischbach." He looked at Sam. "I won't provoke him, but if he provokes me..."

"He's an unimpressive almost engineer under six foot," Sam said. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Don't say that," Dean said. "You probably just screwed me over."

"You could always go see Patrick," Sam said, tapping the file next to Fischbach's.

Dean thought for a moment then nodded his head. "I'll go see Patrick first," he said. "Might give us some insight on just what the hell is going on."

"Tomorrow's going to be a full day."

"And today wasn't?"

* * *

The yelling had started in the middle of the afternoon. Felix was downstairs, but he would have had to be deaf not to hear Mark, Matt, and Ryan arguing upstairs. Felix couldn't hear everything that was said, but he could hear what it was about. Something work related that Mark didn't approve of.

About half an hour later, Matt and Ryan stormed out of the house. Felix chose not to get involved and was glad Amy hadn't been around to see or hear any of it.

It was evening now and Mark finally came downstairs to get something to eat.

"I ordered pizza," Felix said. "If that's okay." After today, he wasn't sure what would set Mark off. He told himself that Mark's attitude came from spending so much time in the hospital when he didn't have to. Yeah, that had to be it. He had never heard Mark yell at his friends like that before.

Mark looked relieved. "It's fine," he said, helping himself to a couple of slices. "One less thing I have to deal with."

Felix decided it was time to get involved because he could no longer sit by and say nothing. "They did a lot of work to keep your channel going while you were in the hospital," he said. "You didn't sound grateful today."

Mark gave him a look that said it was none of his business. Felix didn't budge. The two stared each other down for what seemed like hours, but it was only about a minute. "I don't want to talk about this," Mark said then took his pizza and left the room.

Felix left his half eaten slice and followed after Mark. "Despite my better judgment, I'm making it my business," he said. "How could you say those things you said to them today behind the scenes, but then practically praise them for saving your ass in your vlog?"

Mark stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned back to Felix. "I don't need a lecture," he said. "Especially from you."

Felix had heard worse, so there was nothing Mark could say now that would wound him. "They're your friends," he said. "Maybe you need a lecture."

Mark said nothing then turned and headed upstairs.

Felix started forward, calling up to him: "Don't let it get worse."

There was no response from Mark.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Things will pick up soon, so don't worry. If this chapter was too boring, think of it as a filler chapter. Also, I'll be updating this fic every Saturday or Sunday. I figured giving myself a schedule will help motivate me into writing this regularly. I might even update sooner at times, but for sure every Saturday or Sunday.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Five**

Sam woke up the next morning with an ache in his back. He had fallen asleep leaning up against the headboard of the bed. The work he had been doing was strewn across the bed, undisturbed. The only difference being, he had fallen asleep with his laptop on his lap.

"Hey," Dean said when he noticed that Sam was awake. He was sitting at the table, Sam's laptop in front of him.

"Were you up all night?" Sam asked, getting to his feet and stretching his aching muscles.

"I wasn't planning on it," Dean said. "I was reading up on Fischbach."

Sam walked over to the small coffee maker, seeing that Dean had already made a pot. And had either made another one, or had prepared it for Sam because it was still a full pot. "Find anything?" he asked, grabbing a paper cup and pouring himself some coffee.

"The guy plays video games for a living," Dean said. "Posts them on YouTube under the alias 'Markiplier.' "

Sam, coffee prepared, walked over and sat down at the table with Dean. "So instead of going the engineer route, he went for entertainment," he said then took a drink of coffee.

"That's not the interesting part," Dean said. "He sometimes posts sketches, which involve characters referred to as his alter egos."

Sam set his cup down, prepared to tell Dean that all actors were the same. "I think you should get some sleep, Dean," he said then paused as Dean turned the laptop around to face him.

On the screen was a website filled with what Sam assumed was fan art. The pictures were clearly of Mark Fischbach, aka Markiplier, but darker versions of him. He was especially drawn toward an image of Fischbach with solid black eyes.

"His name is Darkiplier," Dean said. "And the 'lore' behind him can get pretty messed up."

Coffee forgotten, Sam continued scrolling through the website, some of the images sending a chill down his spine, remembering all the demons he had come across. Some worse than others. And with the way this case was going, Darkiplier might be on of those worse ones.

"But it explains a lot," Dean said. "There's a lot of different sites with all sorts of stories. Fischbach kinda ignored the alter ego for a while until recently.

"Some of the stories say Darkiplier is a separate entity, while a lot support the idea that Dark and Mark are the same person," Dean went on then pointed at the other medical files. "Darkiplier tried being a separate being, but none of them were strong enough, so they died. If Fischbach hadn't been in that accident, we could've had a lot more bodies on our hands."

"At some point most of them were alive at the same time," Sam said. "How did one demon handle that?"

"As far as I know, Fischbach hasn't gone all dark on us yet," Dean said. "I think Darkiplier spread his energy to keep the others going. Once Patrick's gone..."

Sam didn't like the thought that there was nothing they could do for that last patient. "We've got to get Fischbach under surveillance," he said.

"Better yet, locked up."

They grabbed what they needed and left.

* * *

Mark had been awake for most of the night. Whenever he finally managed to get to sleep, he dreamed about the accident he still couldn't remember while wide awake. He either woke up hyperventilating or shaking, and sometimes both. His body was soaked with sweat by the time he decided to get out of bed around five in the morning.

He took a long shower, the dreams still on his mind. The accident itself had faded. What stuck was the words and laugh he heard each time before waking up:

 _I'm here now._

Once he was dressed, he stayed in the bathroom for a while after. He had texted Amy in the middle of the night and told her about the dream(excluding the voice and laugh) and she had offered to come over despite the hour. He had turned her down, but now he wished he hadn't. Would he have been able to sleep if she had been here? He liked to think so. He would just have to hope no one noticed the dark circles under his eyes. He wouldn't want to talk about it.

But after what happened yesterday with the boys, no one would want to talk to him anyway.

He wasn't sure why he had been so angry with Matt and Ryan. Everyone would blame it on his stay in the hospital, but if that were so, it would have happened several times before. If anything, he usually came home from the hospital happier. He was still alive, he should be happy.

But something had gotten on his nerves yesterday and he had taken it out on Matt and Ryan. And even Felix, who had only been trying to help.

Mark stared at himself in the mirror for a while. Nothing changed, but he could hear that voice again.

 _There's no use fighting._

 _Soon._

 _And then it'll be_ forever.

Mark left the bathroom as fast as he could.

He realized it was after seven as he made his way downstairs. He noticed Chica on her bed by the couch. As soon as she saw him, she darted into another room, tail between her legs. He started to go after her then stopped and changed direction when there was a knock at the door.

He opened the door and two men were standing there. He recognized them as the two men who had arrived at the hospital as he was leaving. They were dressed more casual now. No suit and tie.

"Mark Fischbach?" the taller one asked.

A danger sense about these guys went off in the back of Mark's mind, but he kept a straight face. "Yeah, that's me," he said. "May I ask who you are?"

The taller one started to speak, but the other cut him off. "I'm Dean, he's Sam. We were wondering if we could ask you some questions?"

"About that missing guy?"

"Where'd you hear about that?" Sam asked. From his tone, they weren't here about that, but they clearly knew something about it.

"Nurse at the hospital mentioned it," Mark said. "If there's something-"

"That's unrelated," Dean said. "Do you know a Dr. Laurie Bates?"

The name rang a bell, but he didn't know why. Mark had never heard the name before now. "No," he replied.

Dean gave a slight nod as if hearing something in the word that wasn't there. "But you know Dr. Cook?"

Mark nodded. "He signed my release papers," he said. "What are you two here for again?" He knew they knew he knew they never mentioned what they wanted, specifically.

"We're in the middle of an FBI investigation surrounding Dr. Bates," Sam said. "And from what we know already, you were the last person she operated on."

"I only met Dr. Cook," Mark said. "You two don't look like FBI agents."

"Undercover," Sam and Dean said in unison. Mark merely nodded his head.

Past them, Mark saw Amy pull up. Neither of the FBI agents seemed to notice. They were more interested in him and he didn't particularly like the scrutiny.

"You didn't hear anything around the hospital about Dr. Bates?" Sam asked. It was obvious the two were straining to come up with questions. Which made Mark suspicious about why they were really here.

"No," Mark said. "Sorry I couldn't help you, but you'd probably have better luck at the hospital." He waved as Amy walked up.

Amy, carrying a box of donuts, looked at the two warily then stepped between them as they made room for her. She gave Mark a curious look as she greeted him with a small kiss. He gestured inside, giving her a 'later' look. She nodded then disappeared into the house.

Mark looked back at the agents, though now he was doubting that they were actually FBI. "If that's all...?"

At least they knew a dismissal when they heard one. Sam handed Mark a card. "If you think of anything, give us a call," he said then he and Dean left.

Mark closed the door.

* * *

"He knows Dr. Bates," Dean said as they got into the Impala. "You could see it in his eyes."

"Best thing to do is keep an eye on him," Sam said.

"Did you catch the look in his eye?"

"What look?" Sam asked. "The look that he recognized Bates' name?"

"A demon knows when it's dealing with a Winchester," Dean said, looking out at the house. "We'll stake out-"

"Are we giving up on Patrick?"

Dean didn't say anything for a moment then looked at Sam. "There may be nothing we can do, Sammy," he said. No matter how badly he wanted to save these people, he knew spending any time on Patrick was a lost cause.

"If we find out what killed them, Patrick may have a chance," Sam said. In that tone of voice that said Dean knew he was right.

And, dammit, he was right.

"Let's get to work." Dean started her up then drove off.

* * *

 _To be continued...  
_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Six**

"So, who were those guys anyway?" Amy asked once Mark had closed the front door.

Mark kept an eye outside, watching until they drove away. "They said they were with the FBI, but I don't know," he said then turned away to join Amy on the couch. The box of donuts was on the cushion between them and he helped himself to one. "There was something about them..." He shrugged it off then looked at her. "Do you know Dr. Laurie Bates?"

"She's the head doctor in charge of that experimental surgery thing," Amy said with a nod. "I saw her name on the consent form. Why?"

"Apparently she's being investigated," Mark said. "If those guys were legit."

"Why'd they talk to you?"

"I was the last person she operated on," Mark said. "I told them I never met her."

"They'd have better luck talking to people at the hospital."

Mark nodded then focused on eating his donut, wanting to put the weird encounter behind him. He wanted to think he would never see those two again, but he had seen them two days in a row now. He knew he would be seeing more of them.

 _If so, we'll take care of them._

"Mark?"

That voice still ringing in his mind, Mark pulled himself out of his daze and looked at Amy. "What?"

"Are you okay?" she asked. In her tone and in her eyes, he knew she was feeling guilty about not coming over last night. "Was last night really that rough?"

"First night back home since the accident," Mark said, realizing he was close to blaming it on his hospital stay. "I'll be okay."

"I can stay tonight, if you want."

Mark nearly started to talk her out of it again, but stopped himself. Ever since he got home, he had been pushing people away bit by bit. He couldn't push away the people he needed. "I'd like that," he said.

Amy gave him a smile then leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. It was clearly something she had wanted to hear. Which made him think about apologizing for pushing her away. But, he knew what she would say, so he didn't mention it. She would only blame it on his stay in the hospital, after all.

 _They don't want to see it._

 _They don't want to think something's different._

 _It'll be too late when they do._

Mark tried to push the thoughts and the laugh that followed away, but failed.

That was when he blacked out.

* * *

Sam and Dean got themselves into the morgue easily. The word of an FBI agent could carry far at times. The bodies of the five patients hadn't yet been released to the families due to the fact that cause of death wasn't determined. Sam hoped the answer would be obvious so they could at least save Patrick.

At least for now they didn't have to worry about Fischbach dropping dead.

"What'd you find out about that spell on the lock?" Dean asked as they started looking over the first body.

"It was just a protection spell in a Korean dialect," Sam said. Since he didn't think that held any significance, he didn't think they would find anything similar on the bodies. "Fischbach's half Korean. Maybe that has something to do with it."

"Dammit," Dean muttered, just as annoyed that there wasn't something more there. "What about the lock itself? You said it was a lock you've never seen before."

"Maybe it was a lock Bates made."

"Or it was a lock she was given."

Sam stopped what he was doing and looked at Dean. "What if that operating room is _just_ an operating room?" he asked. "We've found no connection other than the fact that patients went in and some form of Darkiplier came out."

"Maybe it's where they kept him locked up."

"Like Lucifer's cage?"

Dean didn't seem to like that idea. "If so," he said. "It better not be as hard to get him back in."

Sam knew neither of them wanted to go back, but he had to ask: "Should we give another crack at the door?"

Dean didn't say anything for a moment then gestured to the bodies. "Keep working here," he said. "I'll go check it out."

Sam nodded then want back to work as Dean left.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Seven**

Dean had done enough sneaking around to get someplace the last thing he wanted was to answer question after question as to why he was snooping around Dr. Bates' operating room. So, thankfully, no one was in sight as he made his way down the halls of the hospital. And the staff he did occasionally notice didn't give him a second glance. There were far more important things on their agendas: saving people, just like him.

Arriving at the operating room, Dean slowed his pace when he saw someone kneeling in front of the door. Attempting to get in. As Dean got closer, he recognized who it was.

Patrick Thule, the other patient.

Dean didn't have to say anything before Patrick jumped like he sat on hot coals and turned. He was definitely not what Dean had expected. Patrick looked nothing like his picture. His hair was a mess, he needed a shave, and his eyes were bloodshot. He was either high on something or he was running on little to no sleep. Dean bet on the no sleep option.

"Who are you?" Patrick demanded, pressing back against the door as if to stay as far from Dean as he could. "I wasn't trying-"

"I'm not security," Dean said. "I'm actually here to help you."

Patrick was instantly suspicious. "Help me?"

Dean pointed at the door. Patrick didn't take his eyes off Dean. "Why are you trying to get in there?" he asked.

Patrick hesitated, but it was obvious he had been wanting to tell someone. "Because I was fine before I went in there," he said. "They told me I was dying. They should have let me die! But then Dr. Clyde showed me the results, told me how much pain..." He trailed off, looking down at the floor.

"Those results were faked," Dean said.

Patrick looked at him with a nod. "It took me a few days to realize that," he said. "But it's too late." He slid down the door to sit on the floor, crestfallen. "It's over. He said it was over."

"He?" Dean asked. "Dr. Clyde?"

Patrick shook his head then pointed at the protection spell plastered above the lock then pulled the collar of his shirt down to reveal a similar symbol on his collarbone. Dean didn't know Korean, but he was pretty sure the symbol Patrick had wasn't a protection spell.

"It means Darkness," Patrick said. " 'Darkiplier' isn't really a word and he's always gone by Darkness."

It sounded like Patrick had done a lot of research of his own. "Do you know what's happening here?" Dean asked.

From Patrick's expression, he had been expecting Dean to say he was crazy or something. "Here, right now, I'm probably gonna die," he said. "Dr. Bates won't help me." He dropped his head into his hands. "I can hear him. In my head. Congratulating me." He said those last two words in disgust. He looked up at Dean. "We set it up. He wants something more from me or else I'd already be dead, like the others."

Dean tried to keep up, but this was turning into the ravings of a mad man. But he knew Patrick wasn't crazy. "What's he been telling you?" he asked. "Darkiplier."

"To show him who he really is," Patrick said, getting a far off look in his eyes. "First it was the accident."

The accident... _We set it up._ "The car crash was your fault," Dean said. "With the others' help." Patrick nodded. Dean couldn't be mad at them for that since it was all Darkiplier's fault. And maybe Bates' and Clyde's as well. "You said 'first.' What else did you do?"

"While Mark was in the hospital, I slipped something into his medicine," Patrick said. "Slow acting. It should kick in today if Dark..." He trailed off, his head thunking back against the door and his body going slack.

"Dammit," Dean muttered. He didn't have to check to know Patrick was dead. Which meant Darkiplier had just gotten what he wanted.

He moved to go and get someone, but paused when he saw the protection spell start to glow then fade away. There was a click and he knew the door was now unlocked. He moved Patrick's body to the side then opened the door.

Inside was Dr. Bates and Dr. Clyde.

* * *

Mark woke up to bright lights and a white ceiling. And he had done it enough times to know that he was back in the hospital.

"What happened?" Mark's voice sounded groggy.

"Mark!" Amy. And then she was leaning over him, blocking out the light and giving her a halo effect. "How're you feeling? You okay?"

Mark just nodded then asked again: "What happened?"

"You passed out," Amy said. "You had a seizure. Dr. Cook is running some tests."

Mark looked at the IV in his arm. The reason he felt groggy but calm about it. "How long was I out?" he asked, hoping he wouldn't hear days again.

"Only about twenty minutes," Amy said. "Dr. Cook wanted to know if you had taken anything to cause a reaction. I didn't know, which was why he's running tests. We didn't know when you'd wake up." She put emphasis on _when_ as if she had contemplated _if._

"I haven't."

Amy sat back, not looking satisfied with that answer. "You sure?" she asked. "You've had trouble sleeping -"

"I said I haven't."

She didn't have time to grill him further. A knock came at the door then Dr. Cook walked in.

"Good to see you awake, Mr. Fischbach," Cook said as he stopped at the end of the bed. He held up a clipboard, looking at Amy then Mark. "The results are back."

Then he went on about a drug that had been in Mark's system for nearly a week now. Mark still denied that he had taken anything. And nothing of the sort was recorded to have been given to Mark during his stay last week. When Mark still denied anything, Amy got up and stormed out, cursing Mark. He knew she was upset, but wasn't going to lie just to make her feel better. She would just have to take his word for it.

Dr. Cook left a few minutes later after running a few more tests. He said Mark could leave once everything had been straightened out.

Mark felt frustrated and angry. Something at the back of his mind prodded him and he found himself getting out of bed. He yanked out the IV, waiting for nurses to arrive, but none came.

He pushed the door open then headed down the hall.

* * *

Amy rushed outside, feeling the breeze and sunshine hit her face, but none of it lifted her mood. She had managed to keep from crying so far, but as soon as she sat on a bench outside, the sobs started. No one stopped to ask her what was wrong. She was sitting outside a hospital, after all. A number of things could be wrong that no one would want to hear about.

How could she talk about it to anyone anyway? Her boyfriend was doing drugs and denying it. They have meetings for that and she wouldn't want to talk to a complete stranger about it.

"Amy?"

At the sound of Felix's voice, she wiped the tears from her eyes, but it was no use. Twice as many tears fell as she was able to wipe away. Felix said nothing and just sat down beside her, being a comforting presence since there wasn't much else he could do.

"Mark?" Felix asked after a few minutes. He didn't have to ask any more than that.

"He's awake," Amy said once she was able to speak without sputtering. "He had a seizure. Drug counteracted with a medication he took or something he ate. A non-prescribed drug."

"Mark? Taking drugs?" Felix asked, not believing any of it. If she hadn't seen the state Mark had been in since he got home, she wouldn't have believed it either.

"He denied it, of course," Amy said, upset and hurt. "Dr. Cook confirmed it."

"There could be a reasonable explanation -"

"You haven't seen him since yesterday," Amy said. "He couldn't sleep last night, he was having nightmares, his eyes are fucking bloodshot, for god's sake!"

"Did you talk to Mark or just listen to the doctor?"

"Mark's been acting strange since he got home," Amy said. "I don't need to listen to the doctor to know what's right in front of me. Explains Chica's reaction. She could probably smell the damn drugs on him."

"Amy -"

"I don't want to talk about it," Amy said then got up and walked away.

She sat crying in her car for another twenty minutes before she drove away.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Eight**

Dr. Laurie Bates didn't look happy to see Dean.

"You're not him!" Bates shouted as she came forward toward Dean as if to attack him. She was a small woman, Asian. Then Dean figured she was Korean, from the symbols that had been placed around. Fischbach being half Korean was pure coincidence.

"He's been delayed," Dean said, sidestepping Bates and walking over to Clyde, who was lying on the floor unmoving. Dean nudged him then checked his pulse. The doctor was dead. He didn't see any obvious cause, but they had been locked up in an operating room for a week. He could have been given something.

"He wouldn't be delayed," Bates said. "Not if the door is unlocked."

Dean turned to her. "Does it look like he's here?" he asked. "What happened to Dr. Clyde?"

"He no longer believed," Bates said. "I told him our king would come, but he didn't believe."

"King?"

"King of Darkness."

"Right," Dean said. He couldn't remember reading anything in the Darkiplier lore that referred to him as the King of Darkness, but maybe Dr. Bates had come up with her own lore. "And he's coming here?"

Bates nodded. "He can't rule his kingdom without his queen," she said.

Dean suddenly had a picture in his mind of Fischbach and Bates together that he hadn't wanted. "He doesn't have a kingdom," he said. "He didn't even exist before 2012 and he wasn't even real until now!" He had thought the fans of Markiplier had brought Darkiplier to life, but maybe Bates dabbled in witchcraft or something. He still wouldn't out-rule the deal with a demon theory.

"Lies!" Bates shouted. "This realm is his kingdom and he shall rule for an eternity!"

Dean started to say something, but then an invisible force grabbed him and threw him backward, pinning him against the wall. He had been man handled by demons enough to know that Darkiplier had just shown up.

And, looking past Bates, he saw that he was right.

Mark Fischbach was standing there, dressed in a hospital gown, but there was nothing ridiculous in his appearance. Even if his eyes hadn't been solid black, Dean could actually feel that Darkiplier had taken over. Whatever Patrick had slipped into the medicine had obviously triggered it. That or it had killed Mark to let Dark take over.

Bates turned around and dropped to her knees in front of Dark, who actually looked annoyed by her presence. Dean suddenly had a bad feeling, but he could do nothing but watch as Dark raised his hand and snapped the doctor's neck. Dean flinched at the sound.

As her body flopped over, Dark stood there staring at it for a moment then looked at Dean. "Enjoy your stay," he said, an evil smirk on his face as he stepped back and closed the door. With a click, the door was locked.

The hold on Dean was released. "Dammit," he muttered under his breath as he dug through his pockets to get his phone to call and warn Sam.

* * *

As Sam looked over the bodies, he noticed a symbol etched into the skin of every patient. He had overlooked it before because it hadn't been that prominent. But then he realized the symbol was like that protection spell he had seen. He took out his phone and took a picture of each tattoo.

"Sam Winchester?"

Sam wasn't startled by the sudden sound of a voice, but he instinctively reached for the gun he had hidden away when he heard his name instead of his alias.

A man stepped in view. Sam didn't recognize him and didn't relax even when the man appeared to be unarmed. "My name is Felix Kjellburg," the man said. "A borrowed vessel. I was sent by Castiel."

"You're an angel," Sam said. He put the gun away. Being sent by Cas could be a lie, but sending an angel to give Sam and Dean some extra help sounded like something Cas would do. Sam would have preferred having Cas here, but Cas was busy with bigger problems.

"I've overstayed my welcome here, but Castiel insisted that I stay," Felix said. "That it was important. He said not to approach you unless it was an emergency."

Sam didn't need specific details. "We're too late," he said.

Felix nodded. "Mark's leaving the hospital right now, but Dean's locked up in the operating room," he said. "I'll follow Dark."

Sam nodded then followed Felix out the door.

* * *

When Dean called, Sam picked up immediately, letting Dean know he knew about Darkiplier. Good. Saved Dean the trouble of filling him in.

"He might be leaving the hospital right now," Dean said, standing by the door. The lock on this side needed a keycard, so he knelt by Bates' body and started to search her. "Keep an eye -"

"We've already got eyes on Dark," Sam said. He didn't need to hear Dean ask for an explanation. "Cas sent an angel to help when we needed it."

"Thanks, Cas," Dean muttered and meant it. He paused when he found some notes in her pocket marked 'On Video.' He looked up and just now noticed the camera that was set up. He glanced through the notes. They didn't tell him anything, but he knew what would. "Do we have time to watch a video?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just get here as fast as you can," Dean said then hung up. He found the keycard and unlocked the door then walked over to the camera.

* * *

Mark stepped outside the hospital, several things running through his mind.

He couldn't remember how he got here, yet he was perfectly aware that he had walked.

He remembered an operating room, a woman...but then that memory was quickly gone.

He was standing outside in a hospital gown.

Dr. Cook said he could leave once "everything had been straightened out." He couldn't quite remember if it had. But, due to the fact that he was still wearing a hospital gown, Cook hadn't released him. He should go back inside and let someone know that he had been sleepwalking or something.

 _You don't want to go back._

 _You know what's waiting back there._

Mark listened to the voice in his head and started forward, away from the hospital. Soon his pace turned into a job then a full sprint.

What was he running from?

It wasn't important.

As he ran down the street, he was aware that people were staring at him. He stopped and looked down at himself then walked into a clothes store nearby. He had no money on him, but he was starting to realize that that wouldn't be a problem.

 _I could take over._

 _But that wouldn't be fun._

 _We'll do it together._

"Can I help you, sir?" a man asked. He worked there, but it was obvious he wasn't asking about selling something. He was clearly rattled by the sight of Mark in a hospital gown. "Do you need me to call someone?"

"I need clothes," Mark said, his tone deep and demanding. He felt a sort of glee by the intimidated look on the man's face. "And then I'll be out of your hair."

"You can't just walk in here -"

Mark let Dark take over, lifting his hand toward the man. Fear in his eyes, the man flew backwards across the room, startling the other people standing around. No one moved to approach Mark.

Grabbing a suit from one of the shelves, Mark changed out of the hospital gown. Once dressed, he admired himself in the mirror. He smiled, adjusting his tie, his eyes turning a solid black.

Everyone suddenly started leaving, which didn't bother Dark one bit. If they hadn't left, he would have started killing them one by one.

Killing Bates had only whetted his appetite for murder.

He turned to leave, stopping as he saw Felix walk in. But Dark could see him as he really was: an angel.

"I'm here to stop you," Felix said, brandishing an angel blade.

Dark chuckled, clasping his hands together behind his back. "Then stop me."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** There won't be an update next week since I'll be out of town and unable to update, but I'll still be writing so I'll have two chapters ready for you by the time I get back on the 24th.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Nine**

Sam arrived at the operating room not much longer after the phone call with Dean. At the sight of the two bodies on the floor, Sam quickly shut the door behind him. He didn't recognize the bodies, but judging from the white coats they wore, they had to be Bates and Clyde. Sam looked around once more then spotted Dean across the room, fiddling with a camera on a tripod.

"Bates had notes about Darkiplier," Dean said as Sam walked over to stand beside him. "My guess is she was putting together something she'd show once Dark 'established his kingdom.' "

"I'd be more surprised if there's a demon that doesn't want to take over," Sam said. He and Dean crowded around the small display screen. "And if this is a waste of time?"

"Then just hope your angel friend can stall," Dean said then pressed play.

 _Dr. Laurie Bates pressed record then took a few steps back to be in frame. Dr. Clyde stood behind her, looking out of place as if he was starting to regret something. He had probably grown tired of Bates' fanatic nature toward Darkiplier._

 _"My name is Doctor Laurie Bates," she started. "Soon I will abandon that name as I have abandoned Korea. I will take on the mantle of queen and I will have my rightful place at his side."_

 _"Laurie -" Clyde started but stopped when Bates sent him an icy glare. He shook his head then stepped off camera. She looked perturbed, but also relieved that he was no longer standing there._

 _She smiled as she looked back at the camera. "I was chosen," she went on. "My King of Darkness approached me weeks ago in a dream, giving me specific instructions. Instructions I followed to the best of my ability. He's been very pleased with my progress._

 _"We have finally found his vessel," Bates continued. "It's only a matter of time before Darkiplier rises and claims this realm as his own. I will be given the highest honor as thanks. I shall rule by his side, as his queen."_

Dean shut off the video. "She was crazy," he said. "A demon got in and had his way with her."

"Why her? It still doesn't make sense," Sam said. He and Dean had been convinced that the fans of Markiplier had brought Darkiplier to life. As far as they knew, Bates had never heard of Mark before that dream she mentioned. So why hadn't Dark gotten the help of one of the fans? Why go to a complete stranger?

"What if Dark really did exist before all of this?" Dean asked after a short moment of silence. "Bates was just chosen because it was convenient for him. Almost killing Mark was the only way to get to him."

"Maybe," Sam said. He had to admit, that theory made the most sense. "You found out that Dark's been around since 2012." Dean nodded. "If he really did exist before now, what was he doing between then and now? He could have taken over a long time ago."

The look on Dean's face said that something had just occurred to him. "Mark now has around fifteen million subscribers on YouTube and growing fast," he said. "He takes over Mark's life, he has an army he can mold."

"The fans?"

"Get them all together in one place, Dark can take whatever the hell he wants," Dean said. "That control is what he wants right now."

Together, they left the operating room.

* * *

There was a moment of hesitation. Dark could see it in Felix's eyes. An angel with a conscience. Everyone was so intent on saving Mark that they wouldn't even touch Dark. He couldn't have gotten any luckier.

"Not very confident by yourself, are you?" Dark said when Felix remained standing there. "You pathetic, little angel. Too bad you didn't bring the Winchesters along." Dark had never met the hunters before they had shown up on Mark's doorstep, but he had heard of them and had recognized them easily. There weren't many demons who didn't know the two brothers.

"They'll be along soon," Felix said, not looking too sure about that himself. "If anything, I'll just stall you."

Dark spread his arms out from his sides. "Stall me from what?" he asked. "You don't even know what I'm going to do." He lowered his arms. "You didn't think to stop and ask. What if I'm doing this all for Mark's benefit? What if he wanted this?"

"He wouldn't," Felix said, raising the angel blade, but otherwise, he still hadn't moved.

"Are you sure about that?" Dark asked. "If only you had shown up earlier. You would have witnessed Mark letting me take over."

"You didn't give him a choice."

"I gave him every choice," Dark said. "I could have taken over the day he arrived at the hospital. I would have left if, deep down, he hadn't really wanted this." That wasn't a complete lie since Dark had been working on Mark all week to want this.

"What would make Mark want this?" Felix asked. "He wasn't unhappy. His life -"

"His life would have ended with nothing to show for it," Dark said. "This way, it can have meaning." He started forward toward Felix. "He'll be remembered."

"I won't let him be remembered as a sacrifice for you," Felix said. "You, on the other hand, won't be remembered at all." He hefted the angel blade then attacked.

Dark lifted his arm to block, the angel blade tearing his sleeve, leaving a shallow gash in his arm. The wound burned, but Dark fed on the pain. He lifted his other hand and they wrestled over control of the angel blade.

Felix kept a firm grip on the hilt, but had to let go when Dark was able to start turning the blade against him. Instead of going for the blade, Dark kicked it away, making the fight fair even though they both knew Dark wouldn't play by the rules.

As soon as the angel blade was kicked away, Felix backed off then went for the blade. Dark blocked his way every time he moved. Dark smiled, his adrenaline pumping with excitement. Felix was starting to look worried. Dark was surprised, and a little impressed, that the angel hadn't just turned and fled. His stalling would have succeeded if Dark had actually been in a hurry to get somewhere. Dark had all the time in the world, but playing cat and mouse was getting old fast.

So when Felix moved to get around Dark once more, Dark took the angel by surprise and hurled him against the wall hard enough to knock him out and probably break something.

Dark grabbed up the angel blade then stabbed it into the wall next to Felix's unconscious form. "Tell Heaven to send me an actual challenge next time," he said then left.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Ten**

Sam and Dean rushed out of the hospital and were on their way over to the impala when Dean's phone started ringing. Dean grumbled about not having time for this then answered the phone as he and Sam were getting into the car.

"Dean -"

"Cas, we're a little busy at the moment," Dean said, though he had to admit, the urgency in Castiel's voice worried him a bit. He started the car, but decided to hear Cas out before they went anywhere. "This can't wait?"

"No," Cas said. "I'm sure you're aware of the angel I sent to help you?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I just received word that he left his vessel. Unconscious. I don't know in what state."

"Dammit," Dean muttered. Sam gave him a curious look. "He was following someone," he said, a look of understanding then concern crossing Sam's face. "If that angel abandoned -"

"He'll be dealt with, just get to the vessel," Cas said. He told Dean where Felix could be found then hung up.

"I'll go see to Felix and you go after Dark," Sam said, getting out of the car. Dean didn't like the idea of splitting up right now, but what else could they do?

"I won't approach him unless it's necessary," Dean said then let Sam know where to find Felix.

Sam nodded acknowledgement. "You think he'd go home?" he asked, speaking of Darkiplier.

"Only one way to find out."

"I'll be over there as soon as I can," Sam said. "Unless you call, then I'll move faster." Dean nodded. "Be careful, Dean." Then he walked off.

Dean watched him go then drove off in the other direction.

* * *

Amy had thought about going home to her apartment, but found herself pulling up to Mark's house. She didn't immediately turn around and drive away, so she parked and got out. She let herself into the house, not surprised to hear that Matt and Ryan still weren't home. Ever since their fight with Mark yesterday, they didn't stay home long. And it sounded like they had taken Lego and Banana with them. Hopefully they planned on coming back. No matter what Mark was mixed up in, they were still friends.

She walked upstairs and into Mark's bedroom, seeing Chica curled up on the floor. Amy knelt beside the pup and gave her a big hug as if apologizing that no one else had caught on to Mark's change. Chica's tail thumped against the floor a few times. Amy viewed that as forgiveness.

Leaving the dog be, Amy went into the bathroom. All that crying had tired her out and she needed a nice, warm shower. And even though she and Mark didn't live together, she often stayed over so she had plenty of her own clothes. But, after her shower, she just pulled on Mark's bathrobe then crawled into bed, calling for Chica to join her.

Snuggled up to Chica, Amy nodded off for a brief moment. She woke up when Chica jumped out of bed and ran out of the room. Amy sat up and started to call her back but stopped when she saw Mark standing there.

"What are you doing home already?" Amy asked. When she had been at the hospital, it didn't seem like Dr. Cook would release Mark anytime soon today. Then she realized he was dressed up in a suit. "What are you wearing?"

"Dr. Cook said I could go," Mark said. "I felt bad about earlier and wanted to do something to apologize."

Amy thought about pressing further about his drug use, but decided against it since he had clearly done a lot to make it up to her. She stood up and walked over to him. "Apology accepted," she said, her fingers gently caressing the silk tie he wore. "But you should have come to me before -" She stopped, noticing the blood on his arm. "Oh my god, Mark, what happened?"

Mark lifted his arm as she reached for it, pulling back the torn sleeve and uncovering a nasty scratch. "I got into a fight," he said, sounding like he wasn't bothered by it at all.

"A fight?" Amy pulled him over to the bed to sit down then went and got the first aide kit out of the bathroom. "Why?"

"Wrong part of town, I guess," Mark said. "The other guy looks much worse, I promise." The small smile he gave her was a sign of the Mark she knew and loved. Maybe she had been wrong about the drug use.

She wanted to be wrong.

Amy finished patching him up then watched as he pulled off the suit coat, along with the shirt and tie. "It's not a rental, is it?" she asked, fingering the torn sleeve.

"It's not," Mark assured her. "I guess they were trying to get rid of it. The owner practically gave it to me."

"Maybe because it's easily ripped," Amy said, picking up the shirt and coat to repair it. Before she could walk away, Mark put his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap.

"Do you hate me for what I did?" Mark asked, giving her his puppy dog look.

"I can't hate you," Amy said. "But I do want to know why." She went on when he said nothing, "Is it because of those dreams you keep having?"

Mark looked ashamed, letting her know that she was right. "I was afraid I'd sound like some sort of baby, calling on you because of bad dreams," he said.

"Hey, you know better than that," Amy said. She grinned at him. "You're cute when you're a baby." She put the shirt and coat down then slipped her arms around his neck. "Never be afraid of coming to me about anything. I'm here for you, always."

Mark said nothing and instead pulled her in for a kiss. He kissed her like he never had before: roughly. And when she tried to push him away to get him to ease off, he held her tighter. She pushed against him more, but he didn't relent.

"Mark, stop," she said when he deposited her on the bed and pinned her down. He didn't listen or say anything, his eyes dark with glee.

He yanked the bathrobe open, exposing her bare skin. She tried to move, but he continued to hold her down. She screamed for him to stop, her screams and cries getting louder as his hand roughly moved between her legs. When she screamed for help, his hand clamped tightly around her neck, cutting her off.

She could do nothing but let him have his way with her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:** In response to Amypilierfan123 (and whoever else may be curious about it): The reason Matt and Ryan are still in the picture is because when I started writing this story, they were still in the picture for me because it was before I found out they were no longer in the picture IRL. If that makes sense. I thought about starting over and putting Ethan, Tyler, and Kathryn in the picture, but I was too lazy to do so. XD I may bring them into the story towards the end. Stay tuned to find out!

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

Sam arrived at the location Dean had given him. It was a tailor shop; where men could buy suits already made or tailored for them. Sam pushed the door open and walked in. His first thought was that it was closed since it appeared to be empty, but then he remembered Felix was here. And then deduced that Darkiplier had cleared the place out.

At the sound of a pained moan, Sam moved over to the source, finding a man attempting to get up. Sam didn't recognize him, but from the way he was dressed, he had to have worked here. Sam knelt down and helped him sit up.

"You okay?" Sam asked. Since the man was awake and moving, albeit slowly, he couldn't have suffered much damage. "Can you tell me what happened?"

The man was too shaken up to even wonder who Sam was. "A man came in," he said, one hand pressed against his head. "He came from the hospital. He was wearing one of those hospital gowns." He lowered his hand, pausing as if to conjure up memories.

"It's okay," Sam said, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "I can piece together what happened next. Rest here. I'll call an ambulance and take a look around." He got to his feet.

"Are you with the police?"

"FBI," Sam said, taking out his phone. "The man who did this is who we're looking for."

The man nodded, satisfied, then leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. Sam called for an ambulance then went looking around, spotting Felix at the other side of the store.

Sam hurried over and checked for a pulse, relieved when he found one. He couldn't tell if anything was broken, but the large welt on Felix's head was a bit concerning. And so was the angel blade sticking out from the wall.

Sam pulled the angel blade free then hid it inside his jacket. He stood up when he heard sirens outside. They weren't far from the hospital, which was convenient. He remained while the paramedics were there, answering any questions they asked. Once Felix and the tailor shop employee were taken away in the ambulance, Sam pulled out his phone to call Dean.

* * *

Dean pulled up across the street from Mark's house, recognizing the car parked out front. It was the same car he had seen this morning when he and Sam had been here, talking to Mark. The car was Amy's, Mark's girlfriend. Dean put the impala in park, turned it off, then got out and heading for the front door.

He had told Sam he wouldn't approach unless it was necessary, but he couldn't tell if Dark was here. From the looks of it, Amy was. And if Dark _was_ here...

Before he could knock, his phone started ringing. Sam. He couldn't ignore it. He pulled out his phone and answered it. "He's not dead, is he?"

"He's on his way to the hospital right now," Sam said. "Unconscious, but alive. I was thinking about following to see if he'll be all right. Everything quiet there?"

Dean peeked through a window, not seeing any movement. "For now, yeah..." he said then trailed off when he heard what sounded like a scream.

"Dean?"

At the cry for help, Dean hung up without explaining and let himself inside the house. Sam would know something was wrong, so backup was on the way as soon as Dean hung up. Hopefully he wouldn't be here that long.

Dean pulled out his gun as he hurried upstairs, following the cries for help. He kicked open a door to find Dark on the bed with Amy pinned beneath him, his hand between her legs.

Dean didn't waste time. He just pulled the trigger.

Dark fell to the side, an inhuman sound coming from him. Amy, still crying, crawled out of bed, pulling her robe closed as she ran over to hide behind Dean. Dean held one arm in front of her as he started backing out of the bedroom. Dark was standing and laughing, his side covered in blood where Dean had shot him.

"Mark," Amy whispered from behind Dean, her voice full of pain and misunderstanding. Dean knew he couldn't not tell her what had happened to Mark.

When Dark's eyes turned a solid black, Dean fired again and turned, grabbing Amy's arm and heading down the stairs. Dean didn't turn back when he heard Dark laughing again. He had promised Sam, after all.

"Chica!" Amy called, pulling the robe tighter around her as she hurried ahead to the door. Which was still open since Dean had entered. As Amy went outside, a golden lab followed her out. Dean complained inside his head, but tried not to think about the back seat of the impala being covered in dog hair. He pointed the car out to Amy then checked behind him to make sure Dark wasn't following.

There was no sign of Dark, but Dean had an idea of what Dark was capable of so he probably didn't have to follow. Dean turned and ran over to the impala, seeing Amy and the dog already in the backseat. Dean got in the driver's side and drove off.

And didn't slow down until the house was out of sight.

* * *

They met up with Sam at the hotel room. Dean had gotten Sam to pick up some clothes for Amy and she was in the bathroom now, getting dressed. Chica was curled up in the corner, keeping a watchful eye on Sam and Dean. Dean felt like the dog knew exactly what was going on and he had to admit, it spooked him a little.

"You have that 'maybe we should question the dog' look," Sam said.

Dean didn't look away from Chica. "That why I have the feeling that she can probably tell us things?" he asked, only partly joking.

"Let's focus on what we're gonna tell Amy first," Sam said. "You mentioned that Dark was trying to rape her?"

"I never said trying," Dean said, looking at Sam and recalling the conversation they had over the phone before Sam showed up here. "I say we tell her the truth."

"That Darkiplier is real and not just Mark pretending?" Sam asked. "Do you think that will go over well?"

"So it's not drugs."

Sam and Dean turned to see Amy standing there. Chica had moved and was now sitting at Amy's side.

"Dr. Cook mentioned drugs being in Mark's system," Amy said before they could say anything.

Dean remembered what Patrick had said about slipping something slow acting into Mark's medicine. "Drugs _were_ involved," he said. "But it wasn't his fault. It was just to get Dark to take over."

Amy looked somewhat relieved by that news. "Darkiplier's real," she said. "And he..." She trailed off, not needing to finish. If Dark hadn't been raping her, it would have been harder to convince her that it wasn't Mark.

"And Mark?" Amy's voice quavered, on the verge of crying.

"We honestly don't know," Sam said. Amy couldn't stop the tears from falling. "But we promise to do what we can to try and get him back."

Dean said nothing. Trying was the best they could do at this point.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Twelve**

Dean had stayed up through the rest of the day and night doing what he could to find anything similar to what had happened to Mark. It wasn't the type of demon possession Dean was used to. Most demons didn't need permission to take a vessel. And most demons didn't inhabit the vessel before a possession. From what they had gotten from Amy, it sounded like Dark had been driving Mark insane all week.

And from the security footage Sam had pulled from the tailor shop, Mark had walked in, gave in, and Dark had walked out.

Dean turned his head when he heard a whine from Chica, who was laying on the bed next to Amy, who was still asleep. It was only midmorning now, but he would let her sleep. The dog, on the other hand, probably needed to go out. And Sam was off getting breakfast, so that left only Dean to take care of the dog's needs.

"C'mon," Dean called, grabbing the leash Sam had bought when he had gotten clothes for Amy. Chica, tail wagging, jumped off the bed and walked over to him. Dean hooked her up then took her outside.

Pets weren't allowed in the rooms, but no one had been around to check. Even if someone had checked and forbid them from keeping the dog in the room, the dog would have stayed in the room anyway. Dean wasn't about to turn the impala into a kennel.

Dean's phone started ringing. "Hurry it up," he murmured to Chica then answered the phone. "No news on this end."

Sam gave a sigh. "Well, I just talked to Felix," he said. "He's up and around, but can't remember what happened the last week. He said he was supposed to be home in Brighton by now."

"That explains how long the angel's been here," Dean said, still feeling pretty mad about the angel abandoning the poor guy. "What'd you tell him?"

"The truth, to a certain extent," Sam said. "He had decided to stay an extra week, hit his head and forgot about it. He'll be on a flight tomorrow morning."

"At least someone will be away from this mess," Dean said, a tad bit jealous of the guy. But leaving didn't solve anything. "That's why it's taking you so damn long to get breakfast."

"The hospital was right on my way," Sam said. "I'll be there in a few minutes." Then he hung up.

Dean put the phone away and turned to see Chica sitting there, waiting for him. When he looked at her, she stood and started wagging her tail. "No need to thank me," he said then headed back inside.

Amy was up when he walked in and was sitting at the table in front of the laptop, an unreadable look on her face. Dean set Chica free then sat down across from Amy. Neither of them said anything. She deserved to know everything they were trying to do anyway. It was her boyfriend on the line.

"Matt and Ryan," she said, looking over at him. Dean gave her a questioning look. "They live with Mark." She turned the laptop around to face him.

He was looking at a video titled Surgeon Simulator in Real Life. He didn't know what it meant, but watching it made him a bit concerned. Especially at the end when they pretended to operate on Ryan.

Amy closed the laptop, her eyes meeting Dean's. "I've been so worried about Mark, I forgot about Matt and Ryan," she said. She was close to crying again. Dean silently hoped she wouldn't start up again.

Dean had no way of knowing if Matt and Ryan knew something was wrong with Mark. He wanted to believe that they were still okay. But after what happened to Dr. Bates, Darkiplier obviously had no problem with killing people.

"That video was weeks before Mark's accident," Dean said. He had caught the date the video was uploaded before she had closed the laptop. "He wasn't Dark then."

"How do you know Dark hasn't been working him months prior to the accident?" Amy asked. "Years even?"

Dean thought about mentioning his theory about Dark biding his time until the Markiplier community grew to a size of his liking. "We don't know," he said. It wasn't a lie since they had no tangible proof to explain otherwise. "All we know is that he's here now."

"And Matt and Ryan have no idea," Amy said. It seemed like there was something she wasn't saying, but Dean didn't have time to press her further.

Sam walked in with breakfast. Amy got up and moved across the room to where Chica was sitting. No one said anything about the case for the next half hour.

* * *

Amy sat there on the other side of the hotel room, watching Sam and Dean talk quietly among themselves. Probably about "taking care of Darkiplier." She knew what that meant. Despite everything they had told her, she knew Mark wouldn't survive the ordeal.

Unless he was already dead.

She thought back to his behavior leading up to the accident. He had been a bit stressed, it was true. But who wouldn't, working the way he did? And he sometimes took it out on Matt and Ryan, but they were all still friends.

 _Then why are they quitting and moving out?_

Was Darkiplier behind everything? It just took a bit of time to work Mark to the point of giving in? She wanted to believe that Mark would never give in, but who knew what had been going on in his head for the last few months?

But, Chica hadn't reacted until Mark came home from the hospital after the accident. If Dark had been influencing Mark before then, shouldn't Chica have noticed? Especially since she was the first to know Mark wasn't Mark anymore.

Amy got to her feet. "Are you gonna go after Mark?" she asked then corrected herself: "Dark?"

"Once we're prepared, yeah," Dean said when the two turned toward her. "This guy faced off against an angel and won. We just want to be ready."

"An inexperienced angel," Sam said. It sounded like there was some anger about that particular subject. She didn't understand any of it, so decided not to say anything. "Is there anything you can tell us about Darkiplier? That's not floating around on the internet?"

Amy thought for a moment. Mark had mentioned some ideas about bringing Dark back, turning him into a real character for the channel, but nothing had come from that yet. "There's really nothing I can tell you," she said. "Mark pulls his ideas from the lore the fans come up with."

"Is there anything about Dark going after the fans?" Dean asked.

Amy could guess what he was thinking. If she knew Dark the way she thought she did... "It's possible," she said, still finding it weird to talk about Dark as someone real. "Dark already got Mark. The fans would be next."

"He's probably filming a video right now," Sam said, getting to his feet. He looked at Amy. "Would Matt and Ryan -"

"They're off apartment hunting by now," Amy said, waving for Chica to come to her. "Unless Dark stopped them from going, they've been avoiding him the last couple of days."

Dean gave one nod. "They better not be there," he said then led the way out.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Thirteen**

Mark woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, crawling out of bed after suffering yet another nightmare about the accident. He went into the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face and calm down. Staring at himself in the mirror, he remembered the decision about Amy staying the night. He looked back out into his bedroom and saw that Amy wasn't there. So where was she? As he stepped back to stand in front of the mirror once again, images started flashing through his mind.

Images of Amy lying beneath him, bathrobe open, his hand between her legs, forcing her...

Mark hurried over to the toilet and threw up as the images persisted then faded away. He wanted to believe it was just a dream, but he knew better. Especially after what happened at the hospital. He had been able to just walk out with no trouble from the nurses. What came after was a bit fuzzy, but he remembered walking into some sort of store. And then...

He had let Dark take over.

Then Felix had walked in.

Mark didn't know what was happening to him, but somehow he knew that Dark was behind it all. Dark had taken control of his body, had killed Dr. Laurie Bates. Even though Dark had promised her things. The promises had never mattered. Dark hadn't really needed her. She had just made things convenient. After all, Mark wouldn't have ever given in if his health had been at its best. Dark needed him weakened. Needed him to need him.

Mark stared at himself in the mirror, backing off when his eyes started to slowly turn a solid black. "No!" he said, heading back into the bedroom. "You can't have me! You had your fun and that's it! You can't control me anymore. You can't hurt anyone..."

 _I no longer need your permission._

 _You can't last without me._

Mark doubled over in pain, holding a hand against his side, hearing what sounded like two gunshots, but he knew it was just from memory. He had been shot. Dark had been shot. By who, Mark couldn't remember, but he had the feeling that whoever had shot him had saved Amy, judging by the faint memories. He looked down at his hand, expecting blood, but saw only the scar the bullet had made. He had survived the gunshots.

 _Because of me._

 _Face it: you're dead without me._

Mark didn't know where to go to get away from that voice. He knew there was no place to go to get away. Dark was inside him. He should just accept that now and give up. What was the point of fighting anyway? Dark would win in the end, anyway.

"Get out of my head!" Mark screamed, dropping to his knees in the middle of his floor. He could feel Dark scratching to get out; aching to get out. He should just...give...in...

Mark jumped, startled, at the sound of the knock on his door. He looked up, realizing that he had fallen asleep on the floor; daylight filtered in through the window. He pushed himself up and moved to the door, seeing Matt standing there when he opened it. "Yeah?" His voice was quiet, but he could always say he was just tired if it was noticed.

"I was gonna take the dogs out for a walk," Matt said. "Have you seen Chica?"

Mark shook his head, the dog the last thing on his mind right now. Knowing now why she had reacted to him the way she had, it was better if she just remained hiding. "She's around here somewhere," he said. "Are we talking again?"

Matt seemed to just now remember the argument they had the other day. His facial expression said: _Way to conjure up negative feelings there, Mark._ "Kinda hard to not talk since we live here," he said. "For now."

Mark had known they were thinking about moving out, but he didn't think they would actually do it. But now he needed them to leave. Before Dark took over again. "The sooner you're out of here, the better," he said, then closed the door. He felt guilty, but there was no other way to get them out of here fast enough. Them hating him was just the price he had to pay.

 _I could take care of them for you._

 _Don't worry, I'll make it quick._

 _They won't suffer._

 _Unless we want them to..._

Mark locked himself in the bathroom until he heard Matt and Ryan driving away. He looked out the window to make sure the two were actually leaving. He was finally alone.

 _Now let me out._

 _I've got things to do._

Mark didn't know what Dark had planned, but he planned on stalling for as long as he could.

He didn't even last half as long as he thought he would.

* * *

Arriving in front of Mark's house, Sam told Amy to stay in the car with Chica as he and Dean got out. He was pretty sure Amy would stay, but he couldn't say the same about Chica. There was just something about that dog that made Sam think that there was nothing that could keep her away from Mark. If dogs could talk...

"What are you doing?" Sam asked when he saw Dean opening the trunk.

"You think I'm gonna go in there unarmed?" Dean asked. He started to reach for a gun, but then paused and grabbed the angel blade.

"But Amy -"

Dean put the angel blade away in his jacket. "Amy saw me shoot him," he said, meeting Sam's eyes. "She watched him get up as if nothing was wrong." He grabbed a few more items, non of which were a gun.

Sam stepped closer to Dean, lowering his voice so Amy wouldn't hear. "The angel blade will kill him, though," he said. "Don't forget we're trying to save Mark."

"I get that," Dean said then closed the trunk. "But if I have to, she'll understand." He turned and started for the house.

Sam looked back at the car then followed.

* * *

Dean walked inside cautiously. In the back of his mind, he could still hear Amy screaming for help. He pushed the thought further back, knowing it would distract him if he let it. Amy was safe and outside in the car. He would have felt safer leaving her at the hotel, but she wanted to be here for Mark.

Her presence was pointless if it was impossible to get Mark back.

The house was silent, but that didn't mean Dark wasn't here. It just meant that the room he was in was sound proof. They wouldn't be able to hear anything if Dark was just talking normally.

Sam stepped past Dean and walked further into the house, toward the kitchen. Dean kept an eye on Sam to remember where to go. If Sam set up a Devil's Trap like Dean expected him to, then they could at least trap Dark.

If things went smoothly.

They couldn't afford anything to go wrong. One misstep and someone would die. He would do his best to prevent that, but he wasn't getting his hopes up for complete survival. Even if Mark made it, the guy's life would never be the same after this.

Dean pulled out the angel blade and headed upstairs.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Sorry for the late update. Things got a little too busy last week where I couldn't update. Family was visiting and then I got sick. Fun, haha. Anyhow, I'll be back on my Saturday or Sunday updates(unless I feel like updating more during the week). Just stay tuned.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fourteen**

It was too uncomfortably quiet. Dean kept the angel blade raised, using it to push open doors he came to. It appeared that no one was home, but he had the feeling that Dark was around. Maybe Dark was letting them know he was still here. They hadn't tried to sneak in quietly, after all.

The feeling that Dark knew they were here grew when a door a few feet from Dean swung open. Tightening his grip on the angel blade, he started forward then walked into the room. The door shut behind him, leaving him in complete and total darkness. An unnatural darkness. A work of Darkiplier.

 _I knew you couldn't stay away._

The voice Dean heard was in his head. He took a step back, not out of fear, but out of the need to remember where the door was. He could only hope it was unlocked. And still where he thought it was.

 _All bite and no play?_

 _You're so predictable._

 _Pathetically predictable._

Dean pulled out his flashlight and turned it on, but it yielded no light. He cursed under his breath and turned it off, hearing Dark's laughter as he put the flashlight away.

 _You're in my world now._

 _My world._

 _My rules._

 _My way._

"Enough with the theatrics," Dean said, his impatience growing. "Come out and face me like a man. Well, demon." He took another step back and reached out behind him, but came in contact with nothing. That worried him since he knew he hadn't walked too far into the room.

 _You shot me._

 _Surely you can understand my reluctance in showing myself._

"You're obviously fine."

 _It's not the damage or pain; that I can deal with._

 _It's the fact that you didn't play nice._

Dean rolled his eyes. "I'm a Hunter, it's what I do," he said. "I don't remember you playing nice with Dr. Bates. Or the other patients you controlled."

 _I played nice._

 _Without me, they would have been dead a lot sooner._

"Yeah, you're a real gentleman," Dean said sarcastically. Maybe if he got on Dark's nerves enough, Dark would finally show himself. And when he did...

Then suddenly Dark was there, standing a few feet away. It was as if his presence illuminated the room because Dean could see again, though the room was still black all around him.

"Come on, do it," Dark dared. He probably didn't read Dean's mind. Dean's intentions were clear. "Kill me and you will fail. Your little trip here would be pointless."

Dean hesitated. Dark was right. If he killed Dark, he killed Mark as well. And then he would go against what he had come here to do. He hadn't been able to save the others, but he had to try and save Mark.

Dark smiled. "See? Predictable."

Dean knew what Dark was trying to do, but no longer cared. He had been trying to push Dark into breaking and had ended up being pushed himself. He moved forward, grabbing Dark and holding the point of the angel blade against Dark's chest. Dark didn't look worried. Did he think the angel blade wouldn't harm him?

Or did he know Dean wouldn't actually go through with it?

Dean wanted to, but he couldn't bring himself to use the blade and kill Dark.

"It'd be so easy," Dark said. "Plunge it into his chest and you can go home." _His_ not _my._ Dark didn't care if he lived or died. He wanted Dean to kill Mark.

"You've killed before," Dark went on. "You...understand. You've felt the darkness. The power." So Dark knew about Dean's brief stint as a demon. But, who in Hell didn't know? "It's easy to slip into. Not everyone can be saved from it."

It took a moment for Dean to understand what had just happened. The fact that Dark's eyes were no longer a solid black as they had been a moment ago.

 _His_ not _my._

Mark wanted him to kill Dark.

Dean let go and stepped back, watching as the lights in the room came on and he bumped into the door. He opened the door, but didn't leave. Mark remained standing there, not moving, saying nothing.

Dean could imagine the war he was going through right now.

Dean took a hold of Mark's arm and headed downstairs. When he walked into the kitchen, he saw that Sam had cleared out an area, finishing up the Devil's Trap. He finished before he noticed Dean.

Sam gave a look of surprise when he saw Mark. Dean said nothing as he shoved Mark into the Devil's Trap. Mark still remained silent. Sam stepped over to Dean.

"Mark's fighting harder than we are," Dean said before Sam could say anything. "At least we've got him contained now." He looked at Mark then at Sam. "If we exorcise him, he'll just keep coming back."

It appeared that Sam had already thought of that. "But isn't that better than just leaving him like this?" he asked. "We can keep Mark from being possessed again."

"Dark will just find a way around that," Dean said. "He went through all this trouble to get Mark. He won't stop until he has full control."

"We have to kill Dark without killing Mark."

"Could we stuff his demon ass into a jar or something and throw him into the ocean?"

"Let's just leave him be for now where we can watch him," Sam said, looking over at Mark. He looked back at Dean after a moment. "We should call Cas."

"He'll know just as much as we do."

"But Crowley might know more."

Dean didn't like the idea of bringing Crowley into this, but he might know something. He had been their first suspect, after all. He could still be involved in some way. It was worth a try.

"Fine, but Crowley joins him in there," Dean said, pointing at the Devil's Trap. He wasn't too serious about that statement. He really didn't want Crowley anywhere near Mark. And Sam seemed to get that.

Sam pulled out his phone.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Fifteen**

Amy looked out the car window and over at Mark's house. She couldn't tell from here what was going on inside. And part of her didn't want to know. Not after what she had seen in Mark's eyes as he had...

 _Dark,_ she reminded herself. Dark had done those things to her. Not Mark. Mark wouldn't have done such a thing.

But yet she had believed Mark had gotten into drugs?

She buried her face in Chica's fur, feeling the dog panting. A little whine came from her and Amy looked up in time to see Sam coming back over to the car. Without Dean. She immediately thought of the worst: someone was dead. She steeled herself for the worst then moved closer to the open window as Sam approached.

"We got him," Sam said. Amy chose to say nothing. Not until she got the whole story. "Mark gave himself up. Don't know for how long, but we've got him where he can't hurt anyone else."

"Mark?" Sam backed up as Amy got out of the car, Chica following. "Mark's fighting back against Dark?" she asked.

"For now," Sam said with a nod. Amy was relieved that no one was dead. "Dean's keeping an eye on him."

"Can I see him?" Amy asked, looking toward the house then up at Sam.

"Even if it's not Mark in there right now?"

"I'll take that chance," Amy said, though she got a chill down her spine remembering the look in Dark's eyes. It felt as if her heart stopped whenever she remembered the feel of his hands on her. At least those memories hadn't been worse, thanks to Dean. "Not seeing him is just as bad."

Sam nodded then led the way inside. Chica curled up in the floor in the living room when they walked in. Even though Dark was caged in a sense, Chica would still go nowhere near him. Amy hesitated a moment then followed Sam into the kitchen.

To see Mark standing in the middle of some symbol drawn on the floor. Dean was sitting off to the side, some sort of sword in his hand. Amy came to a halt when Mark looked at her. Those eyes weren't Mark's.

Dark.

"Amy!" Dark said, sounding pleased to see her. "I was starting to think I'd never see you again. We didn't get to finish what we started." A sick grin appeared on his face, his eyes roaming up and down her body.

"Go to hell," Amy said.

"Believe me, I would," Dark said. "But your hunter buddies won't allow it. Looks like I'm here to stay."

Amy started forward, but then Sam and Dean were both suddenly there, guiding her out of the room. Dark was still within sight, but they could talk freely without being overheard. Amy honestly didn't care if he heard or not. Something needed to be done with Dark and obviously Sam and Dean weren't willing to do anything. If Dark was telling the truth about that.

"What's the plan?" Amy asked, crossing her arms as she looked up at the two hunters. She wasn't intimidated by their height and it didn't seem like they were trying to be intimidating, so maybe they were still trying to help. Or they had an entirely new way of showing intimidation that she wasn't familiar with.

"Nothing," Dean said then quickly added: "For now." She started to turn away and he continued: "We've got some... help coming."

"What does that mean?"

"It means we'll know more when they get here," Sam said. "In the meantime, I recommend you follow Chica's lead."

 _And go nowhere near Dark._ That was unspoken, but Amy got it loud and clear. "That's probably the easiest thing for me to do right now," she said then joined Chica in the other room.

* * *

Dark watched as the three headed off into the other room. If they thought they could keep him in the dark about what they planned on doing with him, they were bigger idiots than he thought. As he had told Dean: Predictable. They were so predictable it was almost sad.

 _Bet you didn't predict this._

Dark smirked. "I was wondering when you'd figure out how to talk to me," he said. Mark had figured out how to talk to him like he had done faster than anticipated. Dark knew better than to be worried about that. Mark had no power here.

 _No power?_

 _I got us here, didn't I?_

Dark glanced down at the Devil's Trap he was standing in. He glared at nothing in particular. He could practically hear Mark's amusement at that.

 _You won't win._

"They won't figure it out."

 _They're smarter than you think._

"Yeah, sure," Dark scoffed.

He frowned when he suddenly had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Someone was coming and he knew who it was.

Crowley, King of Hell.

* * *

Sam was sitting in the living room, absently petting Chica as he did as much research as he could on Darkiplier. And all the other "egos" while he was at it. Castiel said that he and Crowley wouldn't be there until morning, so he had plenty of time to learn more than he already did these last few days.

He looked away from his laptop when he heard Chica whine. The dog was looking toward the kitchen. "He's not going anywhere for now," he said. Chica looked at him as if she understood.

Chica jumped off the couch as Amy came down the stairs saying: "Matt and Ryan are on their way home."

Sam opened his mouth to speak, but Amy kept talking. "Apartment hunting doesn't mean they've already moved," she said as if Sam had misunderstood. "What're we gonna tell them? The truth? They haven't seen Dark. They won't believe you."

"Tell them it's a YouTube thing," Dean said, walking out of the kitchen. He was holding a pie plate. Sam rolled his eyes at that, but Dean didn't notice. "They're used to that, right?"

"Yeah," Amy said, nodding her head. "They won't appreciate the Devil's Trap in the middle of the kitchen. We can't let them talk to him."

"If they talked to him, we could tell them the truth," Sam said though he wasn't a fan of that idea. No one deserved to know this kind of life.

"I talked to him," Amy said. "He was going to rape me and I didn't know. I had to watch him get shot then get up like nothing happened." There were tears in her eyes, but she refused to cry. Sam had the urge to remind her that she didn't have to be strong all the time. Especially after what she had been through. What she was currently going through.

"If anything, Dark will get them to believe it's a YouTube thing," Dean said. "And probably have fun doing it." He turned and went back into the kitchen. Amy watched him go.

Sam stood and walked over to her. "I know you're worried," he said. She turned and looked up at him. "Dark can't do anything to them where he is right now. We'll be there, everything will be fine."

"I just don't want things to get any worse than they already are," Amy said. She closed her eyes and turned away as her tears started falling.

Sam opened his mouth to speak, then the front door opened.

* * *

Amy brushed her tears away quickly when the front door opened. She turned to see Matt and Ryan walking in, pausing when they saw Sam standing there. Dean was still in the kitchen, hopefully making a way where Matt and Ryan wouldn't have to go in there. She didn't think they could be delayed long. They had to eat eventually.

"Hey, Amy," Matt said then nodded toward Sam. "Who's the new guy?"

"This is Sam," Amy said. Not knowing his last name was for the best. Once this was over, she never wanted to see them again. It wasn't being unfriendly. She just felt that if they were around, something was always going wrong. "He and his brother Dean are filming with Mark."

Matt and Ryan didn't look surprised about that. It wouldn't be the first time Mark didn't share his ideas with them. They were good friends, but they hadn't worked well together for a while now. Maybe once they were gone, Mark could get into a better state of mind.

Once Dark was gone as well.

"They're filming in the kitchen," Amy said, hoping her voice didn't sound as panicked as she felt. Even with Sam's assurances, she didn't want Matt and Ryan to talk to Dark. "If you need anything -"

"We don't," Ryan said then he and Matt went upstairs.

Amy watched them go then looked at Sam. "Get Dark the hell out of here," she said then went upstairs. She thought she wouldn't be able to even look at Mark's room, in fear of memories, but now she crawled into Mark's bed seeking comfort.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Sixteen**

Dark hadn't moved from where he was standing for hours, annoyed that they didn't have the decency to give him a chair. He didn't dare stoop so low to ask for one either. If they thought they had some sort of control over him by not giving him a chair, he wasn't about to prove them right by asking. The Devil's Trap was the only control they would have over him.

 _Until this Crowley shows up._

"Shut up," Dark said under his breath. It was late and everyone was asleep. And Dean was sleeping in the kitchen to make sure nothing happened to free Dark. It was foolish to fall asleep, but Dark couldn't do anything anyway. Because of the damn Devil's Trap!

 _He scares you._

Dark tried to fight back, pushing Mark aside, but Mark was fighting just as much to get out. Dark needed to be stronger.

"Mark?"

Mark forgotten, Dark turned to see Ryan walking into the kitchen, stopping at the fridge. A late night snack. Perfect. Dark looked over his shoulder at Dean, but he didn't react. Fate was on his side this time.

"Late night filming," Dark said, keeping his voice close to a whisper so as not to wake Dean. Or Sam, who was in the other room. "I was cleaning up." He knelt down, acting like he was scraping up the Devil's Trap. He couldn't do anything to it, but Ryan could.

Dark could feel Mark straining to warn Ryan, but it was no use. Dark had a goal to reach and Mark wasn't going to keep that from him.

Ryan closed the fridge without grabbing anything. "Attempting to clean up, you mean," he said, grabbing some cleaning supplies from under the sink then walked over, kneeling down on the floor in front of Dark. Just outside the Devil's Trap. Dark couldn't touch him.

Yet.

Ryan pushed the small bucket of water closer to Dark. Close enough for Dark to grab him, but Dark instead pretended to clean. Once Ryan broke through the spell...

Ryan suddenly stopped and looked at Dark. "Can we talk?" he asked. This was about his and Matt's working relationship with Mark. Dark didn't have time for this. The more Ryan talked, the higher the chances were of waking Dean up. And Dark wanted to be out of here before then.

But Mark still had some power. He was urging Dark to stay and listen. Mark's only hope would be if Dean woke up.

"This can't wait?" Dark asked. He knew the annoyance was plain in his voice by the look Ryan gave him. Pissed off and hurt. "I know things have been a little...difficult." Ryan rolled his eyes. "But things are gonna change. Soon." Having Ryan on his side would make things easier.

"We got the apartment today," Ryan said. Dark felt like he got punched in the gut and knew that was Mark reacting to the reality that Ryan and Matt were leaving. It was no longer something 'that could happen.' "Packing starts tomorrow."

"I understand the need for this to happen," Dark said, not entirely sure it was him talking right now. "And...I'm sorry it came to this. I'm sorry I pushed you to it." Mark had spoken through him and felt grateful that Dark had allowed it.

Ryan accepted it with a nod, a look of forgiveness on his face as he leaned forward, scrubbing at the Devil's Trap. That brief moment of friendship was gone as Dark felt the spell break. He was free.

Dark knocked Ryan out with a touch as he rose to his feet. He could have killed Ryan. It was the only thing Dark would ever do for Mark. Mark understood and accepted the fact that Dark couldn't be stopped.

Dark smiled then left.

* * *

Dean woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. He started to pull it out then stopped when he saw Ryan lying on the floor by the Devil's Trap. Dark was nowhere in sight. Dean ignored the phone as he quickly got to his feet.

"Sammy!" Dean called, hurrying over to Ryan. He knelt down and checked for a pulse, relieved when he found one. He noticed the cleaning supplies and figured out the obvious: Dark had somehow talked Ryan into freeing him.

"Dean?" Sam walked in, seeing Ryan and then noticing that Dark was gone. "What the hell happened?"

"Hopefully Ryan can tell us.

* * *

"Cas will be here in about half an hour," Dean said, coming back inside after calling Castiel back. While Dean had been outside, Sam had been watching over Ryan. They had moved him to the couch after finding him on the kitchen floor.

Sam had only spent a few minutes thinking of how Dark talked Ryan into freeing him. Dark was in Mark's body, it wouldn't be the first time Dark had used that against his friends. Why Ryan had been there was a mystery unless he had gotten up in the middle of the night for a snack. They would know more once Ryan woke up.

Sam nodded, wishing Cas would get here sooner. "Amy's upstairs, stalling Matt," he said. They hadn't decided whether or not to tell Matt and Ryan about Dark, so they needed to come up with some other explanation about what happened last night. "What're we gonna do here, Dean?"

Dean looked at Ryan then back at Sam. "It's safer for them not to know," he said. "It'd be even safer if we just go after Dark now, but I can admit that they need some sort of explanation."

"Explanation for what?" Matt was coming downstairs, followed by Amy. And Ryan was waking up at the same time.

"Sit," Dean told Matt and Amy as Ryan was sitting up, looking confused about where he was. Sam didn't know why Dark hadn't killed Ryan. Maybe he didn't want to leave a longer trail of bodies.

Or maybe Mark had a hand in that.

Matt and Amy both walked over and sat down. Matt looked at Ryan, but said nothing. After a moment of silence, all three looked at Dean. Sam watched Dean silently. He saw the look on his brother's face and knew Dean was going to tell them the truth.

Then the door opened and Castiel and Crowley walked in, sooner than expected.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Seventeen**

Dean was fully prepared to tell Matt and Ryan everything. With Amy there, it would be easier since she could back him up. He knew it was better for them not to know, since they were moving out after all, but they deserved to know if Mark didn't make it through this.

But, he didn't get the chance to say anything when the door opened and Castiel and Crowley walked in. About twenty minutes earlier than anticipated. Everyone just stared at each other in silence for a few moments then Crowley spoke up, "Lost him, did you?"

Dean ignored Crowley and looked at Castiel. "We needed you here yesterday, Cas," he said, knowing his anger was just coming from his frustrations, but he didn't care.

Castiel looked at Crowley then back at Dean. "We were following a hunch -"

"A hunch?" Dean asked, aware of Sam giving him a look, reminding him of where they were. Who they were in front of. "Was that hunch the reason you couldn't stick around here? Why you dropped this case on us?"

"I wouldn't trust this case with anyone else," Castiel said. He looked uncomfortable that they were talking about this here and now.

"That's not the point, Cas."

"Dean!" Sam intervened, grabbing Dean's arm and moving to the other room. Castiel and Crowley followed. "We didn't ask Cas here for this. The only thing that matters right now is Mark and the people Dark may hurt along the way."

Dean said nothing, giving no satisfaction to the fact that Sam was right. But he didn't have to. Sam already knew.

"We were called off the hunt for Lucifer because you two can't handle one demon?" Crowley asked.

"We can handle him," Dean said. "It's the saving the vessel part that's hindering us right now."

"Since when do you care about the vessels?" Crowley asked. "Do you often forget how many demon possessed people you've killed over the years? Just stab him and be done with it."

"There's been too many deaths as it is," Sam said. "We need to come out of this with at least one alive."

"And that doesn't count your angel friend who nearly got himself and his vessel killed because he was an idiot," Dean said, looking at Castiel.

"He was following orders," Castiel said. All the angels of heaven hated him, but there were still some that would blindly follow his lead.

"Well, then he learned to pull stupid stunts from the best," Dean said.

Sam steered the conversation back to the reason they had called Castiel and Crowley, "When we had Dark here, we came to the conclusion that we couldn't exorcise him. Dark went through a hell of a time to get Mark. He'll just come back for more. And it'd more than likely be worse next time."

"You're both idiots," Crowley said. "Did you ever stop and think about why he needed that hospital?" He and Castiel had been on this case first, so he knew the basics. Or he just knew more than he let on.

"It'd be easier for him to get to Mark," Sam said.

"And that's why you're idiots," Crowley said. "He needed the hospital and Dr. Bates to take care of his body."

Sam and Dean both stopped and looked at Crowley. "His body?" Dean asked. "Why didn't you tell us this before we even got here?"

"You didn't ask," Crowley said. "And I like to keep a few things to myself. If you knew who Dark was..."

"And you do?"

"Perhaps."

"Then tell us," Sam said, forcefully.

"He didn't have a name," Crowley said. "Not until Fischbach. The little bastard was obsessed. Fashioned a vessel after Fischbach." He paused to let that sink in.

"Fashioned a vessel?" Dean asked.

Crowley nodded. "He made his own vessel," he said. "He'd be on Lucifer's most wanted list, if the Devil only knew." Dean caught on that Crowley was stretching the truth to fit what he wanted them to think, but it was still better than what they had now. It was clear Crowley knew more, but it would be pointless to try and get it from him.

"So," Dean said, looking at Sam. "Dark has a body."

Sam nodded. "All we gotta do is trap him there."

"Easy."

* * *

Dark was sitting at Dr. Cook's desk when the doctor himself walked in. And from the look on Cook's face, the doctor knew what happened to his fellow doctors, Bates and Clyde. And, more importantly, who had done it. As soon as Cook processed that, he turned to leave. Dark lifted a finger and closed the door.

Slowly, Cook turned to face Dark. Cook was holding a video camera. The one Bates had been filming with while she waited for Dark's return. With how obsessed Bates had been, Dark didn't want to know what was on that camera and the thought of someone else watching it made Dark want to kill Bates all over again and in more painful way.

But he wasn't here for that.

"You're...HIM, aren't you?" Cook asked, though Dark knew he didn't need an answer. "I had nothing to do with what Laurie had planned."

"But you know," Dark said then stood up. "She had something of mine. She didn't tell me where she was keeping it. I need it before someone else gets to it." If Sam and Dean spoke with Crowley, there was a possibility that the King of Hell would reveal that Dark's body was somewhere in this hospital.

"The, uh...body?" Cook asked, his words coming out shaky. It was good that he was scared. He would cooperate faster. He looked down at the camera. "Laurie's, I guess, memoirs mentioned it." He looked up, jumping back startled when Dark was suddenly there in front of him. "It's in her operating room. On ice."

Dark took the camera from Cook. "Thank you, that's all I needed," he said. He snapped his fingers, killing Cook then he left the office.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I'm just gonna go ahead and reveal that there will be a sequel to this story. I'm really excited about it and I'm excited about finishing this one pretty soon, so keep an eye out!


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Eighteen**

Amy, sitting on the couch, watched as Sam and Dean left the room with the two newcomers. She only had an idea of what they could be talking about. And what else would they be talking about? The newcomers were obviously that help Dean had mentioned the day before.

"What the hell's going on?" Ryan asked, looking at Amy. She had only heard bits and pieces from Sam about Ryan being found unconscious with Dark gone. "The last thing I remember is talking to Mark. Last night."

Amy looked at Ryan then toward the other room before looking back. "Who you talked to last night wasn't Mark," she said, bracing herself for their reaction. "It was Darkiplier."

Matt and Ryan both said nothing for what seemed like forever. Amy could tell that the two weren't taking her seriously. She really didn't expect them to. After all, Dark could easily be Mark when he wanted to.

"He's taking this way too far," Matt said, getting to his feet. "I understand getting into character, but he could have hurt Ryan!"

"I'm fine," Ryan said. Something must have happened last night for him to be defending Mark now. "I don't even know if Mark did anything. I could have just blacked out. I was rally tired last night, after apartment hunting."

"Then where's Mark now?"

As the two went back and forth, Amy looked at her phone when she got a text. It was from Mark, but she knew better. Dark was asking her to meet up with him. She hesitated then gave an answer just as Sam and Dean walked back in.

"We gotta go back to the hospital," Dean said then looked at Amy, addressing her specifically. "Do you think he'll come back here?"

Amy thought about the text then shrugged, catching herself before she answered firmly with a no. "As far as he knows, you're still here," she said, ignoring the confused looks on the faces of Matt and Ryan. "In my opinion, I don't think he'll be back."

"What about for you?" Sam asked.

Amy refused to think about what Dark had done to her. "I'll be fine," she said, feeling the opposite after that text. "What's at the hospital?"

"A way to end this."

* * *

Walking into the hospital, Dean immediately sensed that something was wrong. More so when Sam pulled out his phone to let Dean know that Dr. Cook had been found dead in his office.

Dark was cleaning up.

"Dammit," Dean muttered under his breath then turned to Crowley. "Did he know you were coming?" he asked. It was the only thing that could explain why Dark would come here. Crowley knew about Dark's body. They had never mentioned Crowley by name around Dark.

"Hey, you let him loose," Crowley said. "Don't start pinning the blame on me."

"You reveal that Dark has a body and he just coincidentally comes here?" Sam asked.

"You don't know it's him."

"Cut the crap, Crowley," Dean growled. "You warned him somehow, didn't you?"

"Why is it," Crowley started, looking and sounding more irked with every word spoken. "that when something goes wrong, you _automatically assume it's me?!"_

"People are dying here, Crowley," Dean said, not caring that his voice was rising. This was a hospital. Hospitals handled dead people all the time. "If all of this is because of you -"

 _"All right,"_ Crowley hissed. "Keep your bloody voice down. I can't have grieving families suing me over their loved ones death." Dean rolled his eyes. "I let him know I was coming. And not in a I'm-Coming-Get-Out-Of-There kind of way. It was more like...'I've got you now.' "

"Are you saying you've been looking for Dark?" Sam asked. "I thought your hunt was for Lucifer."

"And that hasn't changed," Crowley said. "Dark was a side hobby of mine."

Dean raised his eyebrows, his mind in the gutter. "No wonder he ran when he knew you were on your way," he said.

"Not that kind of hobby," Crowley said, annoyed. "Searching for him. I let him out into the world, after all. He was supposed to do as he was told."

"So we capture a rogue demon," Dean said. "And the first thing you do is gloat about catching him before you even arrive to say it to his face."

"You make it sound -"

"Guys," Sam cut in. "Where's Cas?"

Dean looked around, but there was no sign of the angel. "Dammit," he murmured. "He better not be following a hunch."

Muttering a brief search plan, the three split up to search for Castiel. Crowley went with Dean because Dean wouldn't trust Crowley on his own.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I know this chapter was kinda short. I had to rush it a bit to get an update out this weekend. I'll try to work on this story a bit more this week and kinda like see if I can maybe update it more regularly for you guys than just on Saturdays or Sundays. This isn't a promise. Unless I get super active with updating, the regular schedule sticks.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Nineteen**

As soon as Sam, Dean, and the two others were gone, Amy got to her feet and started for the stairs. She stopped only when Ryan called out to her. Wishing to have a way to get them to believe her, she turned back. Ryan walked over to her.

"I don't know what Mark's doing or what he may have gotten himself into," Ryan said. "but when you see him, can you tell him everything's cool between us? I'll talk to Matt."

"I'm not gonna see -"

"C'mon, Amy," Ryan said. "When you looked at your phone, I could tell. Is Mark in trouble with those guys that were here?"

"In a way," Amy said since she still wasn't sure of what Sam and Dean were planning. They could say they were going to save him, but how could she be sure Dark would allow that? "That's why I have to see him."

"Well, be careful."

Amy nodded then headed upstairs to change. She walked into Mark's bedroom and closed the door, refusing to look at the bed. If any memories began to surface, she wouldn't be able to go through with seeing Dark. She found a pair of her jeans, putting on one of Mark's shirts along with it. She slipped shoes on then headed downstairs and out the door.

* * *

Felix was glad to be out of that stupid hospital gown. He had been informed by the nurse a few minutes ago that his release papers were finalized and he was all set to go. He had changed into his normal clothes and called his girlfriend, Marzia, who acted like she hadn't been notified of his plans to stay an extra week. If he had gotten a bump on the head after his decision, why hadn't he informed Marzia?

When he walked out of the bathroom, he saw a guy in a trench coat standing there. He would normally find that weird, but the last two days had been progressively weirder by the moment.

"Don't tell me," Felix said when the guy turned toward him. "We met earlier this week and now we're best friends. I go hit on the head and forgot. It's another version of 'What happened last night?' "

"We've never met," the guy said in a deep voice that sounded unnatural. "But we have spoken, though you weren't yourself at the time. My name is Castiel."

Something about that name registered in Felix's mind, but he didn't know why. "I don't understand," he said.

"You don't need to," Castiel said. He stepped forward, touching his fingers to Felix's forehead.

Then everything went black.

* * *

During the search for Cas, Sam passed by Dr. Bates' office. Glancing around once, he stepped inside. Dean would probably fuss about Sam not helping with the search, but there was still unanswered questions. Questions that could only be answered by Bates. And since Bates was dead, Sam had to rely on her computer. And what she had filmed about Darkiplier.

Sam sat down at the desk, booting up the computer. Thankfully, it wasn't locked with a password. He could have gotten in, but this way saved some time. And they didn't have all the time in the world right now.

He opened one of the files on the computer, seeing that Bates had been in contact with Dark for the last six months, all leading up to Mark's accident nearly two weeks ago. Not by email, but she had kept notes. Bates didn't meet Dark in person until a week before Mark's accident. Bates had included an audio and video file from what Sam could guess was a secret camera.

Sam didn't have time to watch it now, but he sent it to his own email, along with other Darkiplier files she had accumulated. The most recent was sent directly from her camera and dated a day before the video he and Dean had watched a snippet of. It was a video of Bates with Dark's empty body, confirming what Crowley had mentioned about Dark housing his body in the hospital. Sam had to look away from the video when Bates started having sex with the body. He couldn't imagine how Clyde had felt, being in the same room, but maybe Clyde had already been dead at that point.

Making sure everything was sent to his email, Sam erased anything to do with Dark then shut off the computer. As he was leaving, he got a text from Dean:

"Found Cas."

* * *

Amy pulled out her phone to check the address once more then put the car in park and got out. She was a few miles outside of L.A. in front of what appeared to be an abandoned gas station. She glanced around once more then started toward the door.

As she walked through the door, a heavy feeling came over her and she was no longer in that gas station. There was darkness for as far as she could see. She looked behind her, but the door she had come through was now gone. She fought back her rise of fear. She refused to show any weakness in front of Dark.

Dean had managed to reach Mark, lost deep inside Dark somewhere. Maybe she could do the same.

"I'm here," Amy called, shouting into the darkness. "What do you want?" She turned and saw Dark, where nothing had been a moment ago. "You got what you want."

"And just as easily as I expected to," Dark said, a slight smirk on his face. "But you know as well as I do that I'm not quite done yet."

"If you're expecting me -"

"I acted unfairly toward you and what I did was wrong," Dark said, surprising Amy, but she knew better than to be pulled in by just an apology.

"Did you come to that conclusion before or after Dean shot you?" Amy asked.

"Dean didn't influence my decision at all," Dark said. He stepped closer to Amy, looking impressed when she didn't shy away. "But if you've been where I've been..." He trailed a finger down her cheek. Amy turned her head, but otherwise didn't move. "I haven't wanted a physical touch in so long." He lowered his hand away from her. "New body, new rules, I guess."

"Why did you ask me to meet you here?" Amy asked, forcing herself to look straight at him. He seemed to respect a certain amount of strength. She couldn't push that too far.

"There's a choice to make," Dark said. "The Winchesters seem to have trouble choosing what to do with me. I'm offering you the solution."

Whatever Dark had to offer couldn't be good, but he was giving her the light at the end of the tunnel. She couldn't believe he would just hand Mark over and leave, so there had to be something else to this. But before she could say anything, Dark stepped off to the side.

Behind him was standing Mark, but not Mark. He seemed off somehow. And when he opened his eyes, she understood.

Dead eyes.

No one was in that body.

Amy started backing up in horror then stopped when Dark grabbed her from behind. With her back against his chest, images of him leaning over her bare form came back to her...

Except now she saw Mark leaning over her. His hands were gentle. His movements loving...

Dark could take the pain away.

"You chose life over death for him in the hospital," Dark whispered in her ear. "You signed the paper. Handing him over to me. Now it's only fair you get to decide what happens next."

Dark moved around to stand in front of her once more. "As you said, I got what I wanted," he said. He tapped a finger against his head. "Mark..." He lowered his hand. "And his body."

"I'm not seeing a choice here."

"I'll be leaving with this body either way," Dark said. "Your choice? I take Mark with me, or I trap him in that body." He gestured behind him. "What would Mark want?"

What would Mark want? Amy had been thinking those words a lot since the accident. She had made herself believe Mark would want his life saved, but if he had known that action would lead to this? What Dr. Cook said to her that day came back to her now: _You might risk going against his wishes._ Had Dr. Cook known what would happen? Had she, in fact, gone against Mark's wishes? Trapping him in that body would give her the answers, but did Mark want that?

But she couldn't leave him trapped with Dark.

Amy opened her mouth, but then everything went white.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty**

Dean didn't think finding Castiel would be too hard. They were here for the hospital, so there was only a few places to look. He just didn't expect Cas to be with Felix, who was supposed to have been on a flight back to Brighton this morning. And the worst part was, Felix wasn't Felix again.

They had come to Bates' operating room to see Cas and Felix looking around. Dean texted Sam then went to confront Cas, who merely turned and looked at him as he walked up.

Dean looked over at Felix then back at Cas. "What the hell, man?" he asked, not bothering with trying to be calm about it. "He was getting out. You hear me, Cas? Out!"

"He can track Darkiplier," Castiel said as if that was enough of an excuse.

"So can we."

"I mean, he can take us to him," Castiel said. "Dark is not of this world. He's not even a demon in the same sense that you know."

Dean looked over at Crowley, who just shrugged with a I'm-Telling-You-Nothing-More look. "All right then," Dean said, looking back at Castiel. "Explain."

"He can open a rift between worlds," Castiel said. "He controls everything there. Some have called it the 'Upside Down.' "

Dean thought back to the house, when he had walked into a room of nothing but blackness. That must have been what Cas was talking about now. "And Felix can get us there?" he asked. "The angel, not Felix Felix."

Castiel nodded. "If Dark opens another rift into it, we can get to him," he said. "I'll take Felix home right after."

"You better," Dean said. "He's your responsibility now." Castiel looked ready and willing to take on that burden, which helped Dean forgive him for running off. Dean gave a nod and he could tell Cas knew he was forgiven.

Dean turned when Sam walked in. Sam looked surprised to see Felix, but said nothing about it. He probably figured he would get an explanation from Dean later.

Sam walked over to stand beside Dean. "I stopped by Bates' office," he said. "She was keeping Dark's body in here."

"It's safe to assume Dark has his body now," Dean said. "Cas says Felix the angel here can get us to Dark once he travels to his own little bubble world."

Sam appeared to accept that explanation. "I've heard stranger things," he said. "So how does he know when Dark -"

"See for yourself," Crowley said.

They all turned and looked at Felix, who was standing with his arms stretched out from his sides, his eyes glowing white. Dean reached for his gun. "I guess we don't get time to prepare," he said, moving closer to Felix.

And in a blinding white light, they were gone.

* * *

Amy covered her eyes as everything went white, but it only lasted a moment. As she was lowering her hand, she could hear Dark's scream of frustration and anger. She turned to see Dean, Sam, Felix, Castiel and Crowley standing there.

Her first thought was they had tricked her into believing where they were going. That they had somehow known Dark had contacted her. But that wouldn't explain why Felix was here. He was supposed to have been on his way home.

Sam and Dean moved forward as one, putting themselves between Amy and Dark. If they had noticed the other, empty Mark they didn't say anything. But, Dark was the immediate threat here. He deserved all of the attention if everyone was going to make it out of this alive.

Remembering the choice she had been about to make, Amy attempted to push her way through Sam and Dean. "I can't lose him!" she cried, wondering if their presence had now messed up any chance she had of getting Mark back.

"We're not losing you either," Dean said, holding her back. He looked her in the eye. "Think, Amy! If you give him what he wants, he'll have control over you."

"He was giving me the choice to take back what he wanted," Amy said, seeing the sudden confusion in Dean's eyes. "I'm the only one that can save him."

"Dean!" Sam yelled. Dean turned his head and Sam directed his gaze past Dark to where the empty Mark stood.

"What the hell..."

"Dark's body," Sam said.

"Not anymore," Dark said, stepping back to stand beside the other body. "And thanks to you -"

"Do it!" Amy said, breaking free from Dean and moving forward. This would probably turned out to be the worst thing she could do for Mark. There was no telling what hold Dark had over that body as well. But at least she would have Mark back. "Leave Mark and go."

Both Sam and Dean started to say something, but Amy ignored them. Dark smiled then placed his hand on the chest of the body. Amy allowed herself to be pulled back by Sam. Dean was holding up his gun, but hesitated about shooting, thankfully.

There was no outward sign that anything was happening. The only sign after a moment was the body blinked then collapsed.

Was it finally over?

Everyone was too busy watching Mark and Dark that they didn't notice Castiel walking past and toward Dark. Dark looked drained, but recovering quickly. Castiel was pulling out an angel blade, lifting it as he got closer to Dark.

"Cas!" Sam cried, the first to notice.

That got Dark's attention. He turned as Castiel approached, a look of surprise coming to his face as Castiel stabbed him with the angel blade. Everyone was knocked backwards to the floor by some supernatural force. Amy covered her ears against Dark's inhuman scream.

Then there was nothing but silence.

When Amy looked up, they were back in the abandoned gas station.

There was no sign of Dark.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** There will be one more chapter after this, then I'll be working on getting the sequel up and ready for you guys to read. I'll try my best to get the last chapter of this out as soon as I can so you guys don't have to wait until next week for an update. :)


	22. Chapter 22

**Epilogue**

Dean got to his feet, a bit shakily at first. When the blast happened, he had gotten thrown through a glass door. He patted himself down, relieved to only feel sore in places and nothing else. If he had gotten thrown back just slightly to his right, he would have hit the wall. He would have lived, but something would have been broken, so he was grateful to be standing right now.

"Dean!"

Relieved to hear his brother's voice, Dean headed toward Sam, who was still inside. "Everyone accounted for?" Dean asked, looking around.

Sam was helping Castiel to his feet. "For the most part," he said. Assured that Cas was fine on his own, he moved over to Amy and helped her stand.

"What the hell were you doing here anyway?" Dean asked. Sam gave him a 'be gentle' look. Dean nodded an acknowledgement but waited for her to answer.

"He contacted me," Amy said. "I wasn't sure if you were actually doing anything to help, so I had to do something."

"You could've gotten hurt."

"Me being here was what gave you the drop on him," Amy said then stepped past Sam and over to where Mark was lying, unconscious still.

If that was Mark. Dark could have tricked them by transferring himself to the body, leaving Mark to be the one killed by Castiel.

"We won't leave until we're sure," Sam said, on the same wavelength as Dean.

Dean nodded then looked over at Cas, who was now standing with Felix and Crowley. "You could have gotten killed, Cas," he said, not planning on ever voicing his theory that Castiel might have killed Mark instead. Castiel had enough on his plate right now. "You were lucky."

"But did it accomplish anything?" Castiel asked, having doubts of his own. He looked around. "What happened..."

"We got the guy," Dean said. If Dark was still around, he and Sam would take care of it. "Get Felix home."

Castiel hesitated a moment then nodded and left with Felix and Crowley. Dean watched them go then turned toward Amy.

* * *

Amy knelt down beside Mark, clearing debris away from around him. She placed one hand on his chest, relieved to feel the rise and fall of every breath he took. She brushed his hair back from his face, willing to wait right here for however long it took for him to wake up. She needed to be the first thing he saw after everything that happened.

Then his eyes opened. He looked disoriented for a moment then his eyes met hers.

"Hey," Amy said.

"Hey," he said in return and it was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard.

"Welcome back." Amy was crying tears of joy now. She helped him sit up then threw her arms around him. "I was so afraid I'd lose you."

"I'd never let him take me from you," Mark whispered in her ear, putting his arms around her. "I'm here now."

Amy kissed him long and hard, feeling him holding her as tightly as she was holding him.

They broke apart and turned when Dean cleared his throat.

"Sorry," Amy muttered. She wiped her face and looked at Mark. "Let's go home."

* * *

It was just getting into late afternoon when the impala pulled up to Mark's house. It had been a silent drive and Dean had kept a close eye on Mark and Amy in the back seat as he drove.

Maybe he was just being paranoid. Dean didn't trust a lot of things and everything about Darkiplier was practically screaming "Don't Trust This." But Mark seemed fine. Amy seemed to believe Mark was Mark. And after what she had been through, she would know. Right?

Dean wouldn't trust anything until Mark passed the Chica Test.

Everyone climbed out of the car. Sam and Dean remained by the car as Mark and Amy started for the house. Halfway to the door, Mark said something to Amy then started back toward Sam and Dean. Amy went on ahead into the house.

"Don't instigate anything," Sam murmured before Mark was within hearing range.

"If he's Mark, nothing will happen," Dean said then nodded when Mark was in front of them. "How's the new body feel?"

Mark gave a small shrug. "Feels the same," he said. "But kinda like coming home." He looked down at his hands then back at Sam and Dean. "I wanted to thank you. Tell Castiel thanks, too."

"You never met Cas," Sam said. Mark shouldn't have known Cas by name.

"Dark knew about him," Mark said. "Probably from whatever Crowley meant to him."

"You spent a lot of time in Dark's head," Dean said, glancing past Mark to see Amy standing at the front door, letting Chica out. Dean wasn't the only one thinking about the Chica Test then. "Can you give us anything to explain why he came after you?"

"Dark's gone," Mark said. "Why does it matter now?"

"For curiosity sake."

"He kept most of his thoughts guarded from me," Mark said. "But...it felt like I had done something to him. He wanted to get back at me." Dean had already guessed that gunning for the fans wasn't Dark's master plan.

Unless this was Dark...

That thought left his mind when Chica ran right up to Mark, greeting him happily. Mark knelt down, giving the dog affection.

"That settles that," Sam said, only loud enough for Dean to hear.

"Yeah, well, we gotta go," Dean said. He didn't know what exactly had happened back at that gas station, but Dark was gone and that was all that mattered. He turned and started around the car.

Sam said his goodbyes then they got into the car. Dean turned the impala around and drove off.

* * *

Mark, still kneeling and petting Chica, watched as the impala faded from view. He stood up, telling Chica to go inside as he headed for the house where Amy was waiting. She went inside with Chica.

And as Mark turned to close the door behind him, Dark smiled, his eyes turning a solid black.

* * *

With a cry, Mark sat up, the feeling of being stabbed still there. He grabbed his middle, but there was no blood or pain. He looked down at himself, grateful to be alive.

But what happened?

And where was he?

"Where it all began."

Mark quickly got to his feet and turned, seeing a woman standing there in front of him.

"I'm Celine," she said. "And I'm afraid you're trapped here.

"Forever."

* * *

 **The End?...**

 **Author's Note:** Keep an eye out for the sequel: Where It All Started (with Demons). I'll have the first part of that out today.


End file.
